Sticky tape to cover buttons...
 

Hi,

I would like to get some tape to cover unused buttons and controls but I would like some tape that is water resitant and does not leave any horrible stiky residue after you take it off.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

I don't know what it is exactly or where one could buy it but my dentist uses a plastic film to cover his various control panels and handles to keep them clean that'd do the job nicely. It looks very similar to the material used to protect the screens on PDAs, DSCs and mobile phones. Maybe you could just buy some of that and cut it to size. Certainly seems to leave no residue.

yeh sounds good but who knows where denists buy their gear....

I want to cover the top controls (monitor vol, play/rwd/fwd etc)

Could not resist
 

NewLineMedical? Or in the UK Prestige Dental ;-)

I think the PDA screen protectors won't work on the top/handle... Maybe cleanfilm wrap?

George/

3M brand electrical tape is great. Unlike pretty much all other brands it leaves no residue.

Gaffer tape will do it - it's not the same as duct tape.

Proper gaffer tape is about 5 times the price of duct tape, but will stick to anything, but without leaving any residue.

But beware, because over time (and when exposed to heat) even the best gaffer tape can leave a hard adhesive residue. As with any tape residue, this can be removed with a household solvent, but it can be quite tenacious.

When I was on the staff of a Florida paper as a photojournalist, we would use a vinyl tape made by Scotch to tape up parts of our lens barrels to prevent scratches and abrasion. We mostly used black and the stuff would stay on our cameras for months/years and would peel away cleanly. I was always amazed that in the Florida heat the adhesive would not break down and get gummy. I tried to find the exact match (I only have some VERY short rolls left) but there isn't much info on the inside of the roll cores apart from the Scotch brand name. This was the closest thing I could come up with:
http://www.thetapedepot.com/cart/ind...FScOkgodYj6sYQ

I'd avoid even "good" gaffers tape as it WILL leave a mess over time....trust me.

dave

Scotch (which is made by 3M) vinyl electrical tape is pretty much unique in its residue-lessness.

I'm pretty sure that's what Dave must have been using. It comes in many colors.

Beware of any other brands - the adhesive can be gunky.


http://www3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/...er/output_html

Not to drag this thing out even more, I chedked Eric's link but none of the ones listed were 1" wide which is what I used to use. I'm down to my last foot or two of my old tape and it might be this:

http://www3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/...er/output_html

dave

That looks like some nice tape.

Home Depot / Lowes etc carry an electrical tape that has no sticky but is made of a rubber like material that bonds with itself used for making electric seals in wet places. Would be goof for this as it is plastic and peals right off.

Hot glue gun adhesive sticks fairly well and peels off clean.

Perhaps use that to cover the buttons with a piece of thin plastic.

But be aware that when you remove the glue later it might take the markings with it since it seems the paint used to mark some of the controls rubs off too easily.