PH rub, what tape?

[SheepShagger]

Originally Posted by CJ

SheepShagger, Show it off. I need to see that ride!

Please!

Sorry for the hijack



It's a Backdraft racing Cobra. Custom frame, M3 suspension, brakes & diff, Ford racing crate 392 engine, GT40 heads. 500lbs torque, 475hp car is 2300lbs wet weight, it's a blast.

More pic's
http://sheepshagger.smugmug.com/Cars

[SheepShagger]

Originally Posted by Skywagon

How about helicopter tape? (like is used on the leading edge of rotor blades. I think it's related, if not the same, as the stuff Sheepshagger has on his Cobra.
Bill

Good eye
It's the same stuff. Very strong, doesn't ruin the paint & doesn't slip/slide like normal tape.

[salivan]

Any suggestion on whic helicopter tape would be best to use for around the PH top contact area? I see there is an 8 mil and 14 mil thickness ... as well as various widths. I now have the black tape from SMWest and it 1 1/2 inch wide and "pretty thick" (sorry, I don't have a micrometer to measure the thickness). The black tape works well, but must be put on as flt as possible or it will bump up in areas ... not imposible, but takes technique ... I put mine on in short strips to make installation easier. I think the clear would look better.

Thanks.

Philip

[Ford_6L_E350]

I bought the 14mil stuff. Thicker must be better, stronger, longer lasting than thinner? At least that was my thought.

Mike

[SheepShagger]

Originally Posted by salivan

Any suggestion on whic helicopter tape would be best to use for around the PH top contact area? I see there is an 8 mil and 14 mil thickness ... as well as various widths. I now have the black tape from SMWest and it 1 1/2 inch wide and "pretty thick" (sorry, I don't have a micrometer to measure the thickness). The black tape works well, but must be put on as flt as possible or it will bump up in areas ... not imposible, but takes technique ... I put mine on in short strips to make installation easier. I think the clear would look better.

Thanks.

Philip

Either will work, the thicker it is the harder it is to contour to the shape. I usually use water + a little dish soap in a spray bottle. Spray the area, then place the tape on, then wipe / squash the fluid out, with a rag or squeegee you don't need to get it all, it will evaporate. Then go over the tape with a hairdryer, to heat it up and make it more pliable, and more sticky, and squash it into the correct contour.
The stuff I have is about 1mm thick and it's very very strong and resistant to abrasion.

[jage]

Here's more info in an old thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=455

Got a roll of UHA tape and put it on the other day. Pretty great stuff:

I learned quickly that it doesn't turn- I started across the front of the PH and at the corner had to cut and start a new line. Cuts with scissors, but you can easily score a complex shape through with a razor.

My roof was "clean" from washing and painting the rust and bare metal, but there is a lot of dust here so I went over the whole area with rubbing alcohol and a clean rag.

Then, I started at my Fantastic fan edge, I'd recommend starting at one side to do the whole PH front- 90º cut where the roof meets the drip rail and you can pull the backing and adhere the tape as you go. It conforms perfectly to the roof ridges.

At the other side cut 90º with scissors at the roof-to-drip edge. Cut before completely removing the backing and you can test fit your cut to the edge.

Then with another 90º end start back and go down the entire side. I put one edge at the drip rail and tried to follow that with the tape, sticking that edge down as far as I could reach on one placement of the ladder, and then once the edge was along the contour of the roof (there are some minor variations), rolled the tape along the roof curve- meaning running fingers down front to back to press the other half of the tape down.

I then followed that side section up with a burnishing roller from my Dynomat project to get any bubbles out of the edges. Meanwhile the tape roll sat a the head of the next section, such that I did three passes for each section before moving on.

The tape itself is fairly forgiving at application- a few times my edge matching pointed me into space as I stuck the tape down, and you can just peel it back up. I'd go back a few inches, readjust and reapply. There didn't seem to be any stick issues the second time as I re-adjusted one section more than once.

At the back, where the roof corners curve I applied the tape and then used a razor to contour to the roof-drip-rail edge, then peeled away the excess tape.

Next, repeat on the opposite side and you are left with another 90º end piece to do the rear. On the rear piece I used the razor to contour out the factory 3rd brake lens, as even though I tried to dip into the drip rail at that point to avoid it, it was on the edge of the lens.

So all in all, very easy with UHA tape. I had a good enough portion of the roll left over too, possibly enough to do one full additional side, had I buggered it that badly.