Even the best car shampoos do not cope well with the remnants of the tape, so it makes little sense to go straight to the car wash with this problem. But we are sure that at least a couple of effective tools at hand are definitely lying around in your garage!
Preliminary preparation
Sticky marks are much easier to remove from a well-heated surface. Look at the situation: sometimes just warming up the machine is enough for the tape marks to begin to wear off much easier. But for particularly persistent tape residues, heating with a household hair dryer may be necessary.
Adhesive tape
No matter how strange it may sound, but traces of adhesive tape are well removed with another piece of adhesive tape. Just stick it to the surface of the body, and then sharply peel it off. Repeat until there are no sticky marks or very few.
The most common, transparent tape — it's tacky enough for glue residue to stick to it, but won't leave its own marks on the surface. You can complete the cleaning by wiping with a cleaning agent (we will talk about them below).
Gasoline and gasoline-based solvents
Gasoline itself, kerosene, white spirit, WD-40 and other types of gasoline solvents will do. Apply some cleaner to a rag and gently wipe away the sticky marks. After washing, polish with a dry soft cloth.
Vegetable oil
Inexpensive sunflower oil, which can be found in any grocery, — a good choice. Olive would work too. In this version, the process takes a little longer than when using gasoline: it takes about 2-3 hours for the cleaner to dissolve the adhesive layer.
To clean, saturate a piece of cloth or napkin with oil, put in place with the remaining tape and leave for a couple of hours. Then wipe gently with a clean soft cloth.
Special cleaners
The so-called "anti-glue" solutions cope with tape traces no worse than gasoline solvents (for example, the same WD-40), but they are cheaper. For high-quality cleaning, you do not need to wait long, as in the case of vegetable oil, just apply the cleaner on the surface of the body or a soft cloth (according to the instructions) and wipe. If you are not too lazy to visit the store for a special cleaner, most likely you will not regret buying it.
Drill or grinder with a rubber nozzle
A rather controversial method that requires extreme accuracy. It is used in cases where cleaning fluids have not coped with the task. You can use the usual rubber nozzle on a drill or grinder, or look for a special one to remove the tape.
A few important points:
- Before working with a grinder or drill, thoroughly wipe the surface of the car from excess dust — in large quantities, it can scratch the paintwork.
- Polish the surface without pressure.
- Start with low RPM.
Care after cleaning
After using any of these methods, thoroughly wipe the body surface with a soft cloth. Use an auto polish if necessary.
The forums sometimes mention that alcohol and acetone, as well as Antisilicone solvents, are well suited for cleaning. However, we do not recommend the use of these substances. While these chemicals do a good job of removing tape residue, they can damage the paintwork and create unsightly streaks on the body surface.