I am trying to thing of ways to protect my quarter panels when I take my car to the strip, because I plan on doing some nice burnouts with my slicks. Anyone who's been to a track with a 3rd gen F-body knows that rubber and debris are bound to hit the rear quarter panels. So, I thought of using masking tape to protect them. But, will doing this hurt the paint at all come time at the end of the night to peel the tape off? I don't care if it strips the wax off. The car was painted in early January and has been waxed twice since, if this makes a difference. ANY help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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1984 Camaro Sport Coupe - 73K Miles, Rebuilt 355 TPI L98, Crane 2032 CompuCam - 214/220 @ .050", Crane adjustable fuel pressure regulator, MSD Blaster coil, custom burned PROM, stock TPI intake, Accel 24# injectors, gutted air box with K&N filters
F41 Suspension Package, 700R4 Tranny, TCI Breakaway torque converter, 3.27 Disc Brake Posi Rear
Hooker Shorty Headers, Catco High-Flow 3" Cat, Flowmaster 3" American Thunder Cat-Back
New Paint
Best 1/4 Mile Run (with old LG4 motor):
16.760 @ 80.74 MPH

Coming Soon:
Aluminum Drive Shaft

 

Just make sure the masking tape does not get wet, or you'll NEVER get it off. That stuff bonds to anything when it gets wet.

 

So does that mean I can't do a big burnout in the wet burnout box? Any other ideas? I mostly looking for ideas to protect the paint from scratched. Thanks.

[This message has been edited by CamaroX84 (edited July 01, 2001).]

 

Masking tape sure hurt my paint. I have a Van Nuys car (91' Firebird) and I put some masking tape on the hood to touch up a spot with some auto spray paint and as I slowly pulled the tape off I pulled off some nice long strips of paint too.

 

Somwhere I heard that Pam cooking spray worked....

If you use any kind of tape you might have problems.

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ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R
and 2 POS commuters...

R.I.P. #3
"He can see air"

 

I would do the spray stuff, but I want to protect the paint from chips/scrathes. Thanks for the help.

 

WD-40, remove it with windex and rewax

 

there was a guy with a brand new looking 69 Z at the strip friday and he had a section of paper taped to his rear quarters his came off well and no scratches i was impressed i am doing this next time i go.
and i have brand new paint, not even a month old

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Jarrad
1990 IROC-Z L98 350 TPI
TH-700R4
G92- 9 Bolt Borg-Warner 3.27gears
Bright Red Hardtop/ Grey Interior


DAILY DRIVER: 1991 GREY S10 2.5L/5SPD -FOR SALE.

 

You should be OK as long as you use professional grade masking tape and remove it ASAP. Cheap tape that baked in the sun all day isn't going to be much fun getting off.

 

Liberal amounts of vaselene to the rear quarters should keep the junk off.

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Look for a "painter's" masking tape, too. That stuff won't stick as hard to your paint. Find it near the "house painting" section of your local store. The stuff I use is twice as thick as normal masking tape, and has a glossy appearance. I think the stuff I have is made by 3M. You could use the tape and paper idea; sounds easier & cheaper than laying down strip after strip of masking tape.



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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

Thanks for all the replies. What kind of tape should I use when doing the paper idea? Should i just use the painter's tape that TomP is talking about? Thanks.

 

The "painters" tape that Tom is speaking of is simply the blue colored masking tape. The adhesive used for the blue tape is different and is designed not to stick when you peel the tape off.

The best Idea I've seen is magnetic sign stuff. It was cut to fit the area the guy wanted to protect and sticks on, peels off, and it's reusable. Seemed to work real good too. For all of the headaches and expense, if your going to be putting a decent amount of track time it would be worth it to get two pieces about 36" square and trim them to fit. You might even be able to get away with smaller depending on the exact area you want to cover.

 

That's the stuff; although mine was the regular beige color... found it in Kmart.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!