8 Best Tools for Removing Double-Sided Tape from Your Car

Removing tape marks from a car with improvised means can cost you not only wasted time, but also irretrievably lost nerve cells, unless you do a little Internet research in advance, of course. You are lucky: this collection contains all the remedies that can save you from the problem at home!

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Usually adhesive tape and adhesive tape are removed with a bang, and you have to deal exclusively with their traces. But what to do if the strip of tape was glued so long ago that it seems to have already grown to the body? A new, fresh piece of tape can help you remove marks; you need to glue it overlapping the old one, leaving a free end for you to pull.

It's also a good idea to heat up the old strip a little with a hairdryer, as the increased temperature will make the glue a little more sticky and make it easier to remove.

Now all that remains is to pull the free edge of the fresh strip: the old strip should begin to come off along with it.

Advice

It is better to pull the tape not towards you at an angle of 90˚, but as parallel to the surface as possible at an angle close to 180˚.Thus, the paintwork will experience virtually no impact, which is especially important if the car was not repainted very well or if the paint in the area of ​​the marks is slightly cracked.

Gentle method using oils

If traces of tape are quite fresh, you can wipe them off with oil: apply olive or sunflower oil to the glue, wait a little and carefully rub the area with a rag or sponge. They say that melamine sponges are the most effective in this matter, but they must be used with caution: they are, after all, an abrasive.

Interestingly, marks from the body can be removed not only by ordinary oils, but also by essential oils. You can use tea tree oil, peppermint, eucalyptus or any citrus oil without worrying about the safety of the paintwork.

Advice

Any gentle method of removing marks may require soaking or repeating the procedure many times.

Dishwashing liquid or glass cleaner

Another gentle way to remove traces of tape from your car is with dishwashing and window cleaners. Of course, when using them, you will need to work with your hands, wiping off traces, and, perhaps, make several passes, but you will not need to worry about how the paint will react to such an impact.

Advice

Before using any of these methods, it is a good idea to heat up the tape marks with a hairdryer, even if they are not very old. This will make removing stains much easier and faster.

Acetic acid solution

Some car enthusiasts remove traces of double-sided tape using a mixture of water and acetic acid in a 1:1 ratio. Vinegar has the ability to remove so many stains of different natures that it may also help with the adhesive mark.

Eraser or special attachment

Car dealerships often use a special rubber disc to remove traces of tape, and you can easily buy it and use it yourself. But if the surface of the glue stain is not very extensive, you can use a regular eraser! Just not the side that is supposed to be used to wash the pen.

Advice

Using abrasive products does not help remove glue at all, since usually the particles simply stick to the stain and form a viscous adhesive mass, which is no easier to remove than regular glue.

Alcohol or nail polish remover without acetone

This option is for those who do not want to wait long, but at the same time are afraid for the safety of the paintwork. Yes, alcohol and nail polish remover without acetone are more harmless than other solvents, but they can also leave some marks on the surface. Take the time to check how your paintwork will react to such exposure in a small, inconspicuous area.

Advice

There are quite a lot of ways listed here that you can use to remove tape, but no one can say exactly which one will help in your case, since the effectiveness depends on the nature of the adhesive base of the tape, and they may differ slightly. You'll have to find the perfect method through trial and error.

Solvents

Typically, car enthusiasts are in no hurry to use solvents in order to remove tape from the body, because the reluctance to see a matte spot or get the paintwork to swell after a couple of days is usually stronger than the desire to remove adhesive stains. And, nevertheless, you can resort to this method if you check in advance the reaction of the paintwork to the solvent in an inconspicuous area.

In this case you can use:

• "White Spirit";
• acetone;
• petrol;
• diesel fuel.

These products will actually remove double-sided tape without leaving a trace. The main thing is that their use does not leave a new mark on your car.

Paraffin based lighter

This product can be a real lifesaver that will help remove marks from your car in just a few seconds, but it only works with certain adhesive bases. We recommend starting with ignition products, because they are absolutely harmless to paintwork and can erase adhesive traces instantly with minimal physical effort to wipe off adhesive stains.

Yes, if you are unlucky and the adhesive base of your tape will not be removed, you will have to switch to other methods. But if the glue is suitable, the problem will be solved in record time!

Perhaps, it is not necessary to resort to the help of professionals in order to simply remove traces of adhesive tape from a car, and this can be done with your own hands. We hope that among all the variety of methods you will find one that suits you!