Removing double-sided tape

[blakenoah]

Art handling supplier snuck double-sided tape onsite and used it without approval.

Any suggestions on slick removal? Any tips on wringing necks as well?

[JasonO]

If you want the high-tech answer, see this:

http://cool.conservation-us.org/coolaic/sg/bpg/annual/v02/bp02-13.html

Jason

[blakenoah]

I'll will be printing this out and adding it to my Sunday reading list.

[T. Ashley McGrew]

Hi Blake what kind of material was the tape applied to?

[blakenoah]

They used double-sided tape affix thin ethafoam to one of the permanent gallery walls. I'm not familiar with the types of double sided tape. When the ethafoam was removed the tape that was left was at times gummy and in other areas had more paper like quality to it. The actual roll was well hidden from my eyes.

The supplier was able to remove all of the tape and nearly all of the residue as well. I was unsure of what was used to remove the residue, it was a pungent, clear liquid in a recycled pop bottle.

Sourcing quality tape in China is a struggle. The packing tape the art handlers bring on site can have low adhesive quality. The consistency of adhesion can very throughout a single roll as well. Blue tape comes at a exorbitant price. Masking tapes do little good.

[T. Ashley McGrew]

From the RCAAM list - removing tape residue off of walls -

Solvents:

"whatever kind of tape it is, try using Bestine…made by Union Rubber Inc. You can buy it at Michael’s. This is the solvent for rubber cement, some proprietary version of N-Heptane. It flashes off very quickly and is suitable for use on a variety of surfaces, including most acrylics and plastics (that being said, test on a scrap piece if you can, especially if it is acrylic with flame polished edges). It works very well on latex paint. Repeated use will soften the paint so it is better to work in stages if the tape residue is particularly stubborn. "

I have also found Naptha to be an extremely versatile solvent that doesn't seem to adversely effect most materials.


Mechanically:

Tape residues can also be removed by "rolling" the adhesive off of the surface or it can be "picked up" with either some more of the same tape used as a pick up tool or with a product that is designed for that use. This is a link to one of the oldest framing supply distributors that carries one version -

http://www.unitedmfrs.com/cart/detail.cfm?item=4826

Good luck