anyone know the best way to put heli tape on a frame neatly? thought id put some on my frame pretty well, but the edges have come off as the were on a curve, and i cant put the tape on a curve well without it having to be folded, anyone got any help? or know anyone that could do it for me?
Are you using 3M tape ? If so youtube has some videos on how to apply it , they are doing it on cars but the same techniques are used.
I'm about to cover my frame so I'm making some paper templates 1st to practise what shapes I need to cut to follow the awkward hydro forming on my frame
That does make sense but it allows more edges to peel up and get water under, if you heat it then you get away without cutting as its more stretchy and should work if it's the kinda tape Im thinking of
Like others have said heat it up. Also make sure your frame is grease and dirt free. Also try not to handle the sticky side too much as it will not stick in the corners if your finger prints are all over them
this trick takes alot of time....BUT if you dont leave any pointy corners it helps, when your trimming the triangles out, leave rounded corners, they are less likely to get "lifted" off the bike
Wash your hands really well before handling the stuff too.....or use rubber gloves
and heat, heat is your friend,even a hairdryer is a big help
I got a 12 page instruction book free with my tape !! It was for how to apply it to wings and helicopters but I just used the bits relevant to me.
I stickered up my Scalp ( bike not my head haha ) with 3M tape last night , cleaned the frame with alcohol wipes heated it with a hair dryer , not so it's hot but just warm, warmed up the tape , pre-bent it slightly to follow the finished shape , applied the tape and used some random bits of flat plastic to use as a squeegee to push out the air bubbles and ensure good contact. Be carefull with the directions you use for pushing the bubbles out , this stuff will strech a fair amount ( upto 20 percent according to instructions) Tested it on my BB shell for a dummy run and it is great stuff to work with when warm , you can even lay it over welds if you use a bit of plastic like a pen lid tip to push it into the weld edges. It's very sensitive to skin contact , regardless of much you clean your hands , luckily i found this out on the BB test and ended up using bits of the backing which the tape comes with as make shift ' fingers ' .
Felt confident after this and used the same technique for the rest of the areas my frame , it has some funky shapes but the tape can deal lots of bending and curving.
Best Place to get it is an autoparts store, it's sold as clear car bra, a 4 inch by 84 inch roll is about 25-30. With one roll I was able to do toptube, down tube, chainstays and fork lowers with pieces left over for head tube contact patches etc
Heat to get it to form, before applying mist the frame/backside of the film with a mix of 25% rubbing alcohol water mix
Post Message
Quote
