Hot take: 3M's green tape is overrated for masking trim

After 10 years in the shop down in Tampa, I finally ditched 3M's green fine line tape for the orange stuff from Grainger. Last week on a 2022 F-150, the green tape peeled clear coat off the B-pillar trim and I had to re-shoot the whole door. Why does everyone still swear by this stuff when it fails in Florida humidity? Anybody found a tape that actually holds up in heat?

3 comments

3 Comments

sagejackson9d ago

Man that sucks, I feel your pain on that one. I had a similar thing happen with the green tape on a Lexus roof molding last summer, it left this nasty adhesive residue that took forever to clean off. The orange stuff from Grainger is definitely better in the heat, but have you tried the blue Painter's Mate stuff they sell at Home Depot? It's not perfect but it seems to hold up way better than the green when the temps get up there.

tessap978d ago

Did you have to use any special solvent to get that green tape residue off, or did it just take a lot of elbow grease?

lee.cora8d ago

Oh yeah the blue Painter's Mate is way better in the heat, I've had it hold up on a couple of bumper jobs during summer when the green stuff just melted off. The adhesive is a little stronger but it peels clean if you pull it off while it's still warm. Only downside is it costs like twice as much but worth it not having to fight with goo gone for an hour after.