Misc. EQ Problems with Scotch's Blue Painter's Tape?

[Kenneth K]

Has anyone else noticed problems with Scotch's blue painters tape lately?

My point of reference is a job I did in 2017, compounding and polishing my hull. I use blued painter's tape to mark off sections that were finished versus unfinished. Someone at the boat yard warned me that after about a week, and after getting wet, the tape starts to get hard to peel off. I made it a point to remove the tape in 5 to 7 days, and never had any problems with it.

Just today I finished the job varnishing my exterior grab rails. After only 2 days in the sun, and one of the days was cloudy, the blue tape was very difficult to remove--it came off in shards instead of in one piece, and almost every piece left sticky residue on the gel coat. I had to remove the residue with mineral spirits and xylene.

I found this pretty disappointing for a product that used to be top of the line. Ease of removal is the point of painter's tape. Has anyone else noticed this drop in quality. I know there are other painter's tapes out there, anybody had better luck with another brand?

 

[David Vaughn]

Similar experience with Scotch. This week, taped the cabin top below the eyebrow to apply varnish. Three days later the side with morning sun came off easily; the side with more intense afternoon sun came off in ripped pieces. Not much residue to deal with but still. They don’t make things like they used to.

 

[bgary]

Yup, last time I used the blue scotch tape is... well, the last time I'll use blue scotch tape. I switched to the green gorilla tape and have been much happier.

 

[N.A.]

Just re: xylene... a biochemist I used to work with warned me about serious toxicity from that, and refused to even be in the lab when I used it (and I was using very little, and in a hood.) This was someone who had worked with plenty of other toxic chemicals.

So FWIW, I would avoid using xylene just to get stuff off the hull, even while wearing a respirator and appropriate gloves. I actually stopped using it for anything.

 

[bsangs]

Yup, we experienced this a couple years ago with the Scotch blue. Very aggravating. Switched to FrogTape based on a marina neighbor's recommendation and haven't looked back.

 

[gabriel]

The conspiracy is that they’ve reduced the quality of their original blue tape in order to get you to buy their new line of sharp and pro masking tapes which they charge more. They say that regular masking tape used to be as good as blue masking tape. Big tape is powerful.

 

[Kenneth K]

The conspiracy is that they’ve reduced the quality of their original blue tape in order to get you to buy their new line of sharp and pro masking tapes which they charge more. They say that regular masking tape used to be as good as blue masking tape. Big tape is powerful.

Yeah, that was my first suspicion. But the marketing for the sharp/pro lines touts "sharp lines" and "no bleed through," not weatherability/removability/longevity, so I've never even considered the newer types.

Think my next purchases will be Frog and Gorilla tapes to run a little comparison.

 

[Sean Engle]

Just re: xylene... a biochemist I used to work with warned me about serious toxicity from that, and refused to even be in the lab when I used it (and I was using very little, and in a hood.) This was someone who had worked with plenty of other toxic chemicals.

So FWIW, I would avoid using xylene just to get stuff off the hull, even while wearing a respirator and appropriate gloves. I actually stopped using it for anything.

Does mean the MEK is safe to drink again?? =)