Anybody Tried Frog Tape?

I picked up a roll a few months ago. It does the job for me but I don't think it's the be-all, end-all. I do like it for covering larger areas (thinking the undersides of wings etc.), but after laying it out on a cutting matt, then handling it into place I think it loses a little too much of its grip. I've got a roll of "Painter's Green tape" in a width of 3/8" or so that is just flexible enough to take some side-to-side curves, sticks nice, removes well. Still use that stuff most of the time.

Frog Tape, considering the high $s, I'd give a 6/10.

OK, So with this discusion at hand, I went to the HD today and picked up some of this Frog Tape.

First, it cost me $4.95 for a 1" (.94") x 60.1 yd roll. I am pretty sure that beats the price I have paid for any 3 of the Tamiya rolls on my work desk.

Second since I always seem to have home painting projects, if worse comes to worse I can use it for that.

I bought the smaller roll because I build in 1/72 and really don't need the 2" roll. That roll would have cost me $8.95. Still not bad.

I am alway looking for better and cheaper ways to mask. I have used 3m blue and it is ok. Tamiya tape is GREAT but pretty pricey. It is noce to see the differing opinions here. Thanks again for a great thread!

I really dislike it. It bears NO relationship to Tamiya tape, and IMO it's not nearly as good as blue tape- the good kind with the orange core. More like beige drafting tape or the other blue tape.

I bought one roll, which was not cheap at $ 11, and it has low tack which is ok, but it's heavy, pebbly and stiff.

Thumbs DOWN

Well, there is a Frog tape that is made from the same type paper as Tamiya. I haven't found any around here to try but from what others have said, it's identical to Tamiya except it comes in normal painter sizes and while it's more expensive than 3M blue or whatever in the end it's more economical than Tamiya size rolls.

On the other hand, there's the Frog green tape that is supposed to seal it's edges. I did get a roll of it and didn't like it much. I think it's stiffer than 3M blue with a rougher texture and is harder to get a smooth edge with. Stronger adhesive too. And when I tried shooting a heavy wet coat against the edges the paint would bleed under. Experiment only, not something I'd normally do.

There was also a rice paper tape sold at Sherwin Williams dealers that was replaced with Frog tape. Some folks were lucky enough to stock up with it when they closed it out. I wasn't one of them. So, I just keep using Tamiya for edges and fill in with 3M blue. If I ever find the Frog gold or yellow tape I'll give it a try.

Tony

Will have to look into it,,,   thanks for the testing / reports

Much appreciated

STFD637

 

GreenThumb:

 

Why can't people just use Tamiya tape properly and burnish the edge before painting?

It would save having to buy special tape.

 

 

Hmmmm! Not sure but I think I have seen that Frog tape in the HD and Lowes, and the price per material would blow Tamiya tape out of the water!!!!

Well if that is the case then disregard what I said.

I was under the assumption it was pricey tape.

Not to mention 1 big earthquak and Tsunami and Tamiya stuff becomes difficult to find!!!

Actually it was a labeling issue which I am sure involved my state as they seem to jump on the bandwagon first on any issues of being, "green" or not. I work in the Silicon Valley by the way so I know of what I speak.

GreenThumb

Why can't people just use Tamiya tape properly and burnish the edge before painting?

It would save having to buy special tape.

Hmmmm! Not sure but I think I have seen that Frog tape in the HD and Lowes, and the price per material would blow Tamiya tape out of the water!!!! Not to mention 1 big earthquak and Tsunami and Tamiya stuff becomes difficult to find!!!

Why can't people just use Tamiya tape properly and burnish the edge before painting?

It would save having to buy special tape.

Okay, I purchased some Frog Tape, and in the spirit of ShurTech Brands' risk avoidance, I ran a Consumers Reports-style torture test:

I cut some tape into sawtoothed masks and applied it to unpainted plastic, lacquer-primed plastic, and (as a nod to the product's origins: painting wallboard) raw card stock. I pre-wetted (just running a wet brush around the sawtooth edges) half of my samples.

I brush painted all the surfaces in two colors (a thin, flat yellow vs. a textured "rust") of acrylic plus one (Pactra RC83 Polycarb Fluorescent Racing Red, flammable, contains ketones and other nasty stuff) chosen to "punish" the tape.

The day after the first coat dried, I put down a second strip of Frog Tape at right angles to the first layer of flat paint to see if the adhesion would tear-up the base coat. (I can't think of any reason anyone would do this normally, but I wanted a torture test.) I painted over the second mask and let the whole mess dry thoroughly.

Now what DIDN'T I do? I didn't run my test masking a compound curve. I didn't do any spray enamel or airbrush work. And (BIGGIE!) I didn't test any other masking medium [MATT USHER, ARE YOU LISTENING?].

The results: The tape came off easily and almost pristine! The worst was the wetted tape on raw plastic (my aggressive brushstrokes got under _one_ of the sawtooth edges) and that was still much better than the last time I masked a straight line. The dry and wetted tape on lacquer produced indistinguishable, top-of-the-line results.

The real surprise was the rusty glop on card stock; I'd expected a broken line, and what I got was laser-straight, clean where I'd masked, ugly as homemade sin where I didn't.

And in the adhesion tests there was no pull-up. This stuff is GREAT!

TomZ2

Gang, you are not going to believe this: I contacted ShurTech Brands, LLC. Their response was very nearly the exact opposite of helpful information. They quoted their ad copy and otherwise sidestepped my question.

They would not admit to ever allowing acrylics and Frog Tape to touch.

(I know that this is going to start a new Urban Legend, but I'm going to use it anyway) Were they afraid of spontaneous combustion?

I can understand their position. Their market is people who use latex wall paint, not hobbiest acrylics. To claim their tape works with hobbiest acrylics they would have to test it. I'm sure its not worth the time and expense to go in that direction.

TomZ2

...Were they afraid of spontaneous combustion?

Im already sending that to mythbusters

Gang, you are not going to believe this: I contacted ShurTech Brands, LLC. Their response was very nearly the exact opposite of helpful information. They quoted their ad copy and otherwise sidestepped my question.

They would not admit to ever allowing acrylics and Frog Tape to touch.

(I know that this is going to start a new Urban Legend, but I'm going to use it anyway) Were they afraid of spontaneous combustion?

Had some left over from painting rooms in the house and used it on a tank build.  Worked just as good.  The stuff is great.

learned something today thanks.

Ron

Using the green tape 4 years now and swear by it.

Better than the  typical blue painters tape when you need to mask over and already coated surface---wont leave the very slight residue sometime left by the blue that only shows up after the next coat. Use the green when you want a tape with a bit more 'tack' than Tamiya tape. The case is nice for keeping dust from sticking to the rolls too------GOOD stuff

I've used it and haven't had any bleed under problems.

I always use a brush dipped in plain water and go along the edges next to the area to be painted before I start painting. I dont know if this makes any difference.