HarryD

I have been getting my car ready for my first DE Event. I have most of the safety items on my car ready (brakes, helmet etc) but am concerned about rock chips. I fitted my bra but want to use some tape to cover the headlights and close the gap around my headlights.

Question - What do I use that will not mess up my paint but keep the bra in place? (I was thinking about using the 3m Blue tape from Home Depot but it looks terrible with my red car.)

Clark Griswald

The "low tack" masking tape from HD works well in the 2 inch wide size. This may be what you are talking about since it is normally blue.

Works good because the low tack doesn't hurt your paint. And it is inexpensive.

I'd say get over the look, you find this is a very common sight at DEs. And after a half day on the track you will probably care a whole lot less about how the tape looks than you do right now.

But if you just can't stand it, go get some racers tape from a specialty shop in any color you like.

Jeff Curtis

Harry, I would definitely order a couple rolls of racer's tape...I see guys at the track cover their whole front end with the stuff and it comes right off w/little to no residue.

The rolls are only $5-$7 each and are available in a variety of neat colors...I have four myself!

BTW, these rolls of racer's tape seem to last forever, I've had them for over two years now and have attended 30+ events.

JackOlsen

Generally speaking, only the newcomers are worrying about how their car looks at a DE. Any color tape is fine. But I'm unclear on one point -- you're planning to tape the bra down? What's wrong with it?

HarryD

Thnaks for the responses so far. I am aware that the color is not critical but sometimes you just feel a bit vain.

Jack-The bra seems ok but there it does not lie exactly flat around the headlight openings so I would like to close these off to keep deris out of this area. I am still tweeking the fit so maybe I can get it smoother. I have to keep the Targa top on for the event and there is a bit of wind noise in the front center where it is a bit high. I am figuring that if I tape it over, it should be a bit more quiet.

Carrera51

Harry:
One thing I learned about racers tape is not to leave it on over night, when it is warm out. If you do put it on painted surfaces, remove it at the end of the day. I left tape on my car over a weekend once and when I peeled it off (make sure you peel slowly) it left some residue on the paint, even with a good coat of wax on the car. Used bug and tar remover to get the residue off.

Jim Michaels

Someone at Duck Products (www.duckproducts.com) recommended the purple (talk about clash with red car) Perfect Release Plus painter's tape for use on car finishes. A friend in Florida tried that (after using the blue 7-Day Clean Release) at a DE just a couple of weeks ago. He said that it isn't the final solution (what is?), that it was time consuming to apply to the whole nose, but that it came off easily after a 3-day weekend. He said that there was very little residue, and that was probably left because water was apparently driven up under the tape's edge in a few places.

Stuttgart

Sometimes a bra can hurt your paint more than it helps save it. It's probably a good idea to tape the bra, b/c if sand or dirt gets underneath the bra the flapping in the wind will scratch the paint. Someone might have already suggested you do this, but you should change out your stock brake fluid for racing fluid with a high boiling point.

mm86911

The best solution I have found is Clear Shelf Paper from any home improvement center. It's cheap, comes in a roll (cut to fit) and leaves no residue. I cover most of the nose on my car when tracking it. Protects the paint yet no odd colors to clash for those wanting to maintain appearances (at least from a distance).

realtime

I've used the blue tape too - seemed OK- only word of caution - when I removed it (after one day) it took the tiny specks of touch-up paint out of a few spots. I figured they probably were ready to go anyway...
dan

john d 81SC

Harry,

Can't remember where I heard this, but will definitely give it a try at the first DE event I attend this year. Use racer's tape, but before you apply it to your car, apply it to your pants leg - doing so supposedly takes away some of the adhesive, but not enough not to make the tape adhere. After using racer's tape on my rims (I tape the wheel weights)as well as my lights (head,driving,and turn signals) there was definitely adhesive residue left - and it's a PITA to get off.