Removing dried duct tape residue from paint

[mike-stroz]

I was given a mid 50’s Evinrude Lightwin today, which I got running. It’s a really nice original, but there is some dried duct tape residue on the top, and I’d like to get it off, but I’m not sure I can without damaging the finish. Any suggestions?

[b-morrison]

wd40 or goe be gone

[mr-asa]

Mild soapy ammonia mix might help

[twinrudes]

Silicone spray, the kind you use to lube seals on auto doors

[jpatti75]

I’d be careful with ammonia … I know it will eat at lacquer paint. Not sure about enamel. Goo Be Gone or other kinds of orange cleaners are usually good with that stuff.

[brook-n]

I have been successful removing duct tape residue using just plain old gasoline.
In my situation someone had stuck duct tape on the motor hood to write a price
on it for a yard sale, after having the sun on it all day it was on there pretty good.
The gasoline worked for me without harming the paint.

Just another opinion to consider.
Respectfully
Brook N.

[mr-asa]

quote jpatti75:

I’d be careful with ammonia … I know it will eat at lacquer paint. Not sure about enamel. Goo Be Gone or other kinds of orange cleaners are usually good with that stuff.

If you have strong ammonia (stronger than you can get in stores) and you leave it on for a mild amount of time it can break down paint. The stuff you can get in stores, especially if you dillute it with soapy water, won’t hurt the paint unless you soak the parts in it overnight.
I’ve used it to remove old fuel and grease on multiple motors, most successfully with my ’57 Fleetwin.

[david-bartlett]

I second the use of WD-40 if working inside, Gasoline for outside. Neither will hurt the original paint.

[legendre]

Any of these suggestions might work, unless the surface is genuinely FUWT.

We’re all familiar with this issue. You pick up a lovely, original example of item X from a thrift / estate / garage sale. It’s just about perfect, except for this inexplicable piece of masking tape stuck to some part of the paintwork. Nothing is written on the tape, nor is the tape securing anything in-place.

But it’s there – it’s been there since god was in diapers – and it’s not coming off to save your life. Your new acquisition is officially FUWT.

(F*cked-Up With Tape – It’s a syndrome where the organic acids in some tape adhesive, and plain old white masking tape is the #1 culprit – have eaten into the finish and permanently etched it.)

[mr-asa]

quote david bartlett:

I second the use of WD-40 if working inside, Gasoline for outside. Neither will hurt the original paint.

Ehhhh…
Like dissolves like. The gasoline will do something to the original paint, especially the real volatile agents in it like toluene, whether it’s on there long enough to damage it is another story (just like the ammonia I mentioned above)
You can leave it on for a short enough period for it to be safe, but it’s not really true to say it won’t hurt the paint, and saying that might lead to someone using it in such a manner that it would damage the top coat.

It’s about balancing the harshness of the chemical with the job you need to complete.
If you have to go with aromatics, I’d start with mineral spirits rather than gasoline.
But I still like a soapy ammonia mix.

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