How To Remove Anti Skid Tape

How do you remove anti-skid tape? We explain how to remove anti-skid tape in this post.

How to remove non-slip tape. I know this sounds hard to believe, but at Heskins one of the most popular questions we receive is “How do we remove non-slip tape?”. For obvious reasons, the anti-skid tape is designed to be permanent. Heskins whole ethos is focused on creating the World’s most durable and effective anti-skid tape. We constantly review and change our processes and constituent materials, as in all industries, new and improved components are developed. Heskins progressively and consistently follows or creates the best practice to ensure that the customer receives the most advanced product available; However, all this helps to create problems for those who wish to remove it. If one tries to simply remove the anti-skid tape it will be difficult; you will either struggle to remove it or the plastic film will fragment into smaller pieces. Here we explain how to remove the anti-skid tape. There are two recommended methods:

What Tools Do I Need to Remove Anti-Slip Tape?

With some form of flat tool (something like a scraper) remove one of the corners; you need to ensure you remove enough to create a thumb grip. Slowly peel back the material touching surface-to-surface, this part is critical, it is called a ‘low energy pull’. All self-adhesive materials have an inherent weakness; their adhesive is composed of thin strands, and once these thin strands are bent back and forced into an acute angle, they snap. You must ensure that the material is taken back, surface-to-surface, which is the critical part.

How do you get grip tape off without heat?

Heat does help with tape removal, as our adhesives are initially liquid-based, and heat will go some way to reverting it back to its original liquid state. Ideally, heat guns are better than hair dryers; they dissipate the heat better over the surface. A surface temperature of around 60-70ºC is ideal. There is no guarantee for easy removal. We mentioned above that the material adhesive should be permanent, which makes some removals easy, and others very frustrating!

Steps to Replace the Section of Tape You’ve Just Removed

Once removed, you can apply material straight onto the surface. You would not need to re-prime but may need to edge fix again if this is required. Once the non-skid tape has been successfully removed, there should not be much adhesive residue left behind. However, if you want to remove any remnants, we recommend the use of white spirit or a harsher solvent such as MEK or toluene. Please test the surface prior to using these; they can sometimes react with delicate substrates.

Why Should You Use Alcohol-Based Cleaner When Applying Tape?

If an industrial alcohol cleaner is used then the highest percentage of alcohol will provide the most effective removal of adhesive. Be aware: as of 29/06/2019, the EU regulation 528/2012 restricted the sale of high percentage of industrial alcohol. However, high-level alcohol can still be purchased and used for adhesive removal applications as it is exempt due to its use as a cleaning agent. As mentioned, a higher percentage of alcohol does result in more adhesive strands being removed sooner.

Do you remove tape when wet or dry?

Dry tape is easier to remove as the tape has better construction and is more likely to remain in one piece, whereas wet tape can obstruct the removal process and its rigidity.

If you need any assistance, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We are always willing to help.