Removing Masking Tape Residue

Hi Folks,

I was hoping for some advice on the best way to remove traces of residue left behind by masking tape. I'm kicking myself as I always use low-tac masking tape and haven't had this problem before. I had run out last night, thought some old, 'conventional' masking tape would be OK whilst I was spraying my latest project and now have gooey marks on my paintwork. The paint is only about a week old, the tape I applied last night, so time is of the essence!!!!

Many thanks in advance, Steve

you can try car polish

Panel Wipe...
used in the car spraying trade!

Hi guys,

Thanks for your suggestions. I have managed to remove the masking tape residue (eventually). This is what I've tried and what I've learnt!

• Car polish: With some elbow grease, managed to remove some of the residue and some of the paint!! The stubborn bits weren't shifting, so I went on line and tried some solutions from there:
  
  

Meths: Don't bother, didn't do anything except waste some time and a cotton bud!!

• Alcohol: The strongest I have at home is some Malt Whisky . Didn't shift the residue but the cotton bud smelt gorgeous! . Starting to get impatient, so went back to the car polish...
  
  

Car Polish applied with very fine grade wet and dry paper: Bingo! Managed to remove the remains of the residue and used the polish applied by cloth to buff the paint up, ready for decals.

Tom, thanks for the suggestion. I didn't have the opportunity to try to find some panel wipes.... and hope I don't have to go through this again! The guy at the paint merchant I called in at this morning suggested white spirit, which is probably worth having a go with.

Best lesson I've learnt, though, has got to be:

Use Low Tack masking tape and avoid the residue problem in the first place!

Hope this comes ihandy for someone in the future! Cheers for reading and answering,

Steve