On Toolmonger.com I was reading about a masking tape called "Frog Tape". The claim is that paint will not bleed under it.

Anyone here tried it yet?

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Kit (aka Cranky Kong)

I'm just a roadie for the banned...

Yep, and I think it's excellent. Expensive, but excellent. You do still have to press it firmly to seal, and it's relatively high tack compared to blue and purple tapes, so do not apply over "fresh" paint (I let Krylon dry at least 36 hours, Rustoleum 48).

Other alternative for comparable performance--3M automotive masking tape, frisket film.

It's also stocked at Home Depot now, so might be cheaper there.

I've been using Frog tape for about a year now. I really like it however I did discover one downside recently that may be true for other tapes also. I applied masking to rockets recently when it was very cold. I thought I would mask and paint later when I was able to warm my shed to painting temp. I believe the cold affected the masking abilities of the tape when it was applied. Has anyone else seen this?
I have stopped applying the mask in the cold and the issue went away. Just a note for others that may do this.

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W.Hill
The Rocketry Blog
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lessgravity:

Just my 2cents as a paint guy. (edit: should have said Autobody paint guy)

Yup. Frog, 3M, or any other masking tape definately have a working tempature range.
One trick is to keep the tape warm in the office before you apply it. This only works if your about ready to paint with out any wait time. But, with rockets you probably want to warm the surface up first anyway before you paint.

I've tried "frog" tape. Good things.
- It is very good for masking straight lines.
-It comes off nice if you leave it on too long.
-Very forgiving.

Not so good things:
-Price (compares to regular 3M autobody tape)
-Almost impossible to turn narrow corners ie:flames and graphics
-Some solvents and acids can creep under. But that can happen with almost any masking type tape.

I thinks the "frog" tape is a great thing for painting around the house. It's marketed for the home improvement market, which it fits the application nicely.

I prefer 3M autobody tapes. May be a bit harder to find than going to (bleep)-Depot, but worth the extra effort.

.

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http://hotrodrockets.weebly.com/
Ring Master of the Flying Circus!

i am a custom painter for yrs. now. i only use the blue tape for my line of work. if you apply it right the blue tape can not be out done price is good also . so i say why buy frog tape. i have never had a problem at work or on a model rocket with the blue tape.

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craftsman, builder of exotics

Love it. You don't even really need to burnish the edges to get a crisp straight line. Curves indeed might be an issue.

Don't know about cold issues, we don't have a lot of that along the Gulf Coast except for winter and I haven't gotten much painted this winter.

The best I've found is Tamiya -- expensive, can be found at hobby stores. I do not care about price -- heck, I'm not masking a bedroom for painting ...

I've used every tape imaginable, and even Frog Tape, and the Tamiya is better. Leaves the cleanest edges I've ever seen. I did use it to lay down lines, and then I've used cheaper tape just to cover up the big areas, hold overspray paper in place, etc.

I will admit I've not gone the route of trying tape used by the auto painting crowd, but I'm so satidfied with Tamiya I've not looked to try any other.

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Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Lowe's doesn't carry it in my area although they carry most of the Shurtape line so now I'll have to check with Home Depot.

According to the website (www.frogtape.com) there are "no results" for local retailers carrying it.

We'll see.

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Kit (aka Cranky Kong)

I'm just a roadie for the banned...

I don't like the Frog Tape at all. Despite the high price I paid for it, I don't bother using for serious masking anymore. It's been designated as general purpose tape in my range box now and when it runs out I won't be replacing it. I got bleeding and the tape is too tacky IMO. The Tamiya or 3M delicate surface (blue)tape is the best. I haven't found anything that works as well as Tamiya, although I hear the 3M fine line tape is the same stuff.

OK, so where CAN you obtain the 3M tape?

I have had great success with Tamiya tape. I bought some Frog Tape a little while ago, mainly because everyone was raving about it. When the weather warms back up around here to allow painting again (perhaps by mid-May), I'll give it a try. I am a bit leery of using anything with very much tack, though. Besides Tamiya, my other most-used tape is Duck Brand purple tape (low tack). But I have never tried to execute any complex masking and painting jobs yet - after all, that's what decals are for!

(I'm kidding. Painted patterns will probably always look better than decal equivalents. Someday perhaps I will have the tools and will have put in the many hours of practice needed to acquire sufficient skill to execute complex patterns in paint on the side of a model rocket. Someday.)

Mark \\.

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SAM # 0011