ShurTech Brands Frog Tape

ShurTech Brands Frog Tape

Contributed by John Lee

(Contributed - by John Lee - 05/26/08) Frog Tape

Brief:
Frog Tape is a maskin' tape which advertises itself as "leak proof" and removable up t' 30 days later.

Construction:
Each roll o' Frog Tape comes in its own "Tupperware" style plastic case. This probably contributes a bit to the relatively high cost. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rolls I bought were $9.00 at t' local Home Depot and I have nay seen it anywhere else. T' tape is a sickly green in color and is easily torn with t' fingers.

While I love rocketry, me hearties, t' finishin' o' rockets has always been me downfall. Ahoy! I don't particularly enjoy the process but am "forced" into it because I like t' looks o' unfinished rockets even less. Aye aye! Ahoy! Part o' me dislike stems from bad experience. Blimey! Begad! No matter how careful I try t' be, I always get a mediocre paint job.

Recently, while postin' a build thread on TRF, ya bilge rat, somebody mentioned a product called Frog Tape. Avast! T' thin' that stuck in me mind be t' claim that it allows no bleeding. Aye aye! I was nay convinced, arrr, but t' next day, I found myself at Home Depot for somethin' else and saw t' tape. Aye aye! I bought it on impulse. Aye aye! That night I tried it on me Squirrel Works Firebird SST.

Frog Tape T' first thin' that I noticed was t' tackiness. Well, matey, blow me down! It seemed much less tacky than even "low tack" tapes I have tried. Ya scallywag! Even so, it had no problem stayin' in place. Blimey! Neither did it have problems bein' lifted and realigned. Arrr! When I had my maskin' in place, I pressed down t' edges and hoped for t' best, me hearties, me hearties, nay expectin' anythin' more than I usually get. Avast! Ahoy! I painted t' rocket and waited.

I am pretty sure I painted it too soon after t' previous coatin' and was pretty sure that some paint would be lifted as a result. Ya scallywag! When I stripped t' paint, I was amazed t' find t' lines crisp and perfect. It had nay lifted any paint nor had it allowed any bleed. Ahoy! Avast! It looked...professional.

That be a new experience for me and I had t' show everyone. Ya scallywag! Even me wife, nay a fan o' me rockets, commented on how clean t' lines were. Begad! Aye aye! From that point on, matey, I be sold.

I have since tried it on several other projects. Ya scallywag! Each time it has performed flawlessly. Avast! Ya scallywag! On t' most recent, I worried that might nay be t' case. Arrr! Avast! As I sprayed on t' blue paint, arrr, I saw what seemed t' be a liftin' along one edge of the tape. Avast! I resigned myself t' havin' t' correct it, blamin' myself for nay inspectin' t' tape more thoroughly before I started t' spray paint. Ya scallywag! When I lifted t' tape, though, thar was no problem. Aye aye! T' lines were as perfect as could be asked for.

There may be other ways o' masking, arrr, but I am sold on this product. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I would pay whatever t' askin' price and count myself lucky t' have found it. On lookin' back though, me hearties, ya bilge rat, it is nay too terribly much more expensive than other products. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' roll is expensive but t' tape is thin and thar be plenty on t' roll.

For me, ya bilge rat, me bucko, this has turned a process I dislike into somethin' that may someday become fun. Now if only thar be a better way t' seal balsa...

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Comments:

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M.E.M. (June 3, 2008)
Yes this tape is great, I have had absolutely no problems with paint lifting like I have sometimes had with the blue tape. And no more going back to fix bleeding either. I'd wish I'd had this for my black & white Iris. Yes it's expensive but given that painting is the most visible part of the building process, how much is too much for perfection? Color me convinced, Frog Tape rules.
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J.G. (June 6, 2008)
Ehh. I use Frog Tape, too. It is OK I guess. Don't use it for anything that you need to get a really crisp clean line on though. The best tape I have found to use for masking on rockets is the blue vinyl tape made by 3m that is sold in auto-body supply shops. This is the tape that professional auto-body painters use for masking and pin-striping. It has a nearly perfect "tack" to the adhesive, and gives you a flawless straight line. It also costs about the same as Frog Tape, but you don't get that neat plastic container ;)

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