How to Use Trim Masking Tape

Masking tape is an essential piece of kit for any body repair shop, allowing the autobody technician to work their magic and have the previously damaged piece of bodywork looking as good as new.

Masking tape isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution, however. Particular use cases require a specialist kit that not only ensures a professional finish but also makes the job a little less difficult.

Trim tape is specifically designed to be used to mask off external vehicle trims ready for the surrounding panels to be refinished.

What is trim tape used for?

Trim tape is specially designed for use on external vehicle trims such as door rubber seals, window rubber seals, and rear quarter glass. Trim tape is edged with a flexible plastic strip which slides behind the trim to lift the rubber, ensuring a perfect paint finish every time, with no hard edges.

Thanks to high-quality trim tapes, the removal of external mouldings is a thing of the past, meaning that refinishing jobs can completed quicker and easier.

Whether it’s the trims around the front windows being masked off so you can focus on repairs to the A-pillar or the seals around the doors being covered ready for a smart repair, JTAPE’s Perforated Trim Masking Tape should be your go-to tape for masking trim.

How to use trim masking tape

Just because our Perforated Trim Masking Tape is specially designed for professionals, this doesn’t mean it’s difficult to use. You can master it in three simple steps.

1. Before using any masking tape, ensure that the area you’re adhering to is clean using a panel wipe.
2. Using the perforations, tear the tape to the desired length.
3. Use the plastic edges to slide behind the trim, then pull the rubber gasket down and secure the tape in place. Our tape is designed to be flexible enough to be comfortably curved around the tightest corners, helped by the perforated edges.

Repeat these steps until you have covered the entire length of trim you want to mask. Once you’ve finished masking the trim, you can now move on to masking the other areas of the car as needed, ready for the next steps of refinishing.

How to properly remove trim masking tape from a car

Once the drying process has finished, you can now start to remove the tape from the car. Because you’ve used a high-quality JTAPE trim masking tape, you’ll be able to gently peel the tape right off, leaving no adhesive residue behind. We’d recommend removing the tape as soon as possible to achieve a high quality finish.

JTAPE trim masking tapes

At JTAPE, we have a masking tape for every use case, which is why we offer two types of trim masking tape that you can utilise to meet the needs of whatever job you’re faced with.

Perforated Trim Masking Tape

Constructed with a paper base and rubber edge, alongside offering high heat resistance of up to 160°C, JTAPE’s Perforated Trim Masking Tape is a must-have for masking door rubber seals, window rubber seals and rear quarter glass. As this product is universal with three different sizes of plastic strip to cover all vehicle trim depths, it presents body shops with the opportunity to consolidate the number of SKUs they purchase into just one product.

Perforated+ Trim Lifting Tape

The Perforated+ Trim Lifting Tape has a removal liner to protect its strong adhesive, whilst also featuring a slightly thicker plastic strip than our Perforated Trim Masking Tape. This provides increased leverage when masking firmer gaskets such as headlights, fog lights and other body mouldings. What’s more. it can also be used with the rubber seals around doors, windows and rear quarter glass.

When masking a car, using the correct materials for the job is essential, which is why our Perforated+ Trim Lifting Tape and Perforated Trim Masking Tape are so well-received by automotive professionals. Using the correct tape can help to make a job far easier, save lots of time and ensure a more professional-looking finish.

For more advice and insights into the automotive industry, check out our JTAPE blog.