I'm not sure if any of you do this, but I've noticed on other car forums that some tape up their front bumpers/hoods to protect from rock chips and bug splatter on long drives. I'll be driving about 4-5 hours from Vancouver BC to Seattle Washington and was debating whether or not I should do this. Is it safe to leave it on for a few days at a time or at all? I figured here would be the best place to ask since we're all obsessed with keeping our cars scratch/residue/bug/chip free:applause2:
I've seen people do this for Auto-X racing. I think it'd be safe to keep on, but you'd look pretty damn weird riding down an interstate with a blue front end. If you're that worried about chips and such, you should be investing in a clear bra.
Oops, me making my typical mistakes.. I've got a clear bra on the hood already, its just my bumper/lip that isnt protected, and I dont want my front bumper destroyed by constant bug splatter either. However, I'm also worried about the painters tape leaving mad residue if left on for too long. I'm not too worried about looking a little goofy going down the I5 if it means I'll still have my bumper
even low tack blue painters tape will leave residue if left on too long. i taped up my window moldings and left them on while i forgot about the car. it was about 2 weeks, when i finally got around to finishing and pulled off the tape there was residue every where. sucked
Damn 2 weeks?! Which tape were you using? The 3M blue tape with the lowest adhesion? I only plan on having my tape on for 4 days, MAX
im a skeptic re using 3m painters tape to stop stonechips think about it, you're using essentially paper that you can easily rip to stop stonechips that not even a dedicated product like 3m's clear bra can prevent at speeds over 100
Actually when I went to home depot to check it out, the green tape has MORE adhesive than the blue tape. It said medium-high adhesive. There was a blue tape that said for delicate surfaces, ie. freshly painted wood, etc and the adhesion level said low-medium, with a 60 day clean removal stamp. (whether or not that is true is beyond me ) domino: As noted earlier I have a clear bra on my hood, but my front bumper and lip are exposed to bugs/dirt/rocks etc. The tape may not protect completely against rocks at high speed, but it would definitely stop the bugs. However I'm fighting with myself trying to decide whether or not its worth doing.
I do this all the time when I got up to norcal shows from socal. It's not so much for rock chips as it is for bug splatter. I only keep it on for the duration of the trip and take it off when I get there. If you've ever driven through central california along the 5 during spring-fall months, you'll know just how bad the bug splatter gets.
