hey guys,

Just a quick taping question. When doing a panel, say a door, would you tape the outside edge: the fender / black vinyl or do you tape a little bit of the door edge itself? I thought i saw a post here where you would tape a bit of the panel itself because the paint is thinner at the edges.

Just wondering which is the best way and or if you tape a bit of the edge of the panel your working on; how much?

Thanks in advance.

 

It depends on how agressive you are going, and what kind of machine you are using.

Today, when detailing the GTC I'm working on, I taped the door edges 'cause they had clear bra on them, and it's a PITA to get the polish out of the edge of the clear bra.

Usually I don't tape over panel gaps, unless you can see there is a misalignment in the panels.. and then it's a must.

 

I agree with the misalignment on panel gaps, cause then the raised edge is definitely gonna get burnt. And yes you should tape up the edges like rubber trim and the like because those can get burnt to and it is not a pretty sight.

 

for me it depends on the product...
i do not tape cause i do not use products that "get in the cracks"- or i am very careful as i get to not get in the cracks.
taping is a fantasitc way of comparing products against each other (tape and use one product- then do the other side with a diff product)
taping is most commonly used for badges and other areas that you dont want to polish. edges and cracks can be polished if they are in areas like the trunk (where you can open the trunk to clean the edge)

 

 

I'm with the other guys - "it depends."

If, for instance, I'm doing heavy compounding with a rotary, I tape the edges. Especially if a panel is misaligned, or has a noticably large gap. I can, alternatively, just bypass these edges altogether, but it's easy to make a mistake, and tape is cheap insurance.

If I were just finishing (soft pad, low- to no-cut polish, low speeds), then I wouldn't bother. I'd be careful around edges, sure, but I don't tape in this situation.

Mostly, what I tape is plastic stuff that's "in the way." Let's take my S2000 for example...here's what I tape on it.

- Black rubber at base of roof and windows
- Radio antenna
- Badges
- Corner marker lenses
- Washer nozzles

Again, if I'm working a heavy compound, I add to that list. Panel edges possibly, and definitely the head and tail lights.

 

So if you tape these panel edges, would they not still contain swirls etc? If your not passing over it with your rotary, this would mean your not correcting this part of the paint not ?

thanks for all the help guys.

 

If there's something covering the paint, then no, you aren't correcting it

 

Correct.

As long as you don't go totally nuts with tape, it'll be fine. But yes, strictly speaking, if you cover it up with tape, the polisher won't ever see it. Certainly, areas like this are candidates for polishing by hand.

There's detailers out there who just go at the whole car without a single inch of tape, I'm sure. I'm just not among them.