Tape residue removal

[majel]

What is the best, safest way to remove making tape (Tamiya) residue from a paint job. I made the mistake of leaving the tape on while the car was in the dehydrator and now I have a left over film of residue.

[vypurr59]

If the paint is enamel or lacquer you can use alcohol. Or dawn dishwasher liquid.

Edited June 20, 2014 by vypurr59

[my80malibu]

WD-40 or Mineral Spirits would work it is less destructive than Laquer or Alcohol. You just want to Attack the adhesive not the paint.

[Skip]

Go with the least invasive solvent base you can. You mentioned that the tape went through the dehydrator, is it still sticky or has it already gone to the kind of dry powdery very un-sticky state?

First I would try vegetable oil, Ronson (sp) lighter fluid (basically the same as sticker adhesive remover), WD40, rubbing alcohol, mineral oil, turpentine. If the residue is really dry you will have to do something to try to rehydrate it like maybe the vegetable or mineral oil or start color sanding and hope it comes off. What ever you use I would test first on a painted spoon or sprue, some of the stuff that will remove the residue will also attack the paint too. Unfortunately you may have to start over, hope not.

[Art Anderson]

Over the years, I've had very good success removing tape adhesive "residue" from model car surfaces, by gently pressing fresh masking tape over the offending leftover stickum, and simply pulling the fresh tape off. The principle here is that the sticky sides of two pieces of tape adhere to each other almost irretrievably. I first learned this trick perhaps 40-45 years ago, and its yet to fail me.

Art

[Kris Morgan]

May sound crazy but try peanut butter. Put a bit on a soft cloth and rub. It may take a while for it to work. I have had good luck with it a few times. Other times it has done nothing. Worth a shot though and it will not harm the paint.

[Scale-Master]

Are you sure it's tape adhesive residue? Or could it be a texture imparted to the paint from the tape?

If it is the latter you'll need to take a different approach than the (valid) suggestions for removing adhesive.