Scotch and 3M tapes by job

Which tape for which job

Duct tape does not go on ducts

This is the oldest joke in the trade and it is true. The adhesive on cloth duct tape dries out in heat, and on a warm duct it lets go within a year and leaves a gummy black stripe. What goes on a duct is foil tape, aluminum backed, which takes heat and seals properly.

Duct tape is for everything else. Bundling, temporary patching, holding a drop cloth, marking a floor. Mil thickness is the number that separates the good roll from the roll that shreds. Ten mil is basic, seventeen mil is heavy, and the extra few dollars is the difference between pulling one clean strip and fighting the roll.

Electrical tape, and the temperature rating

The cheap roll and the good roll look identical on the shelf. The difference is the temperature rating and how the adhesive behaves in cold. In an unheated basement in January a cheap roll turns brittle and unwinds. Buy the rated PVC roll, it is two dollars more.

Stretch it as you wrap. Electrical tape is meant to be applied under tension so it conforms and stays; laid on loose it will back off.

Colors are not decoration. Electricians use color to mark phase and to label circuits at the panel, and a labeled panel is the cheapest gift you can leave the next guy.

Thread seal tape, and the direction nobody mentions

PTFE tape goes on clockwise looking at the end of the male thread, which is the same direction the fitting turns as it tightens. Wrapped the wrong way, tightening peels the tape off the threads and bunches it, and you get the leak you were trying to prevent. Three wraps is plenty.

The white roll is standard. There are heavier yellow rolls for gas and pink for water lines, and if the job is gas, use the gas rated tape and do not improvise.

Packaging tape

Width is the whole story. 1.88 inch is standard for cartons. Buy the dispenser gun, not the hand roll, if you ship more than a few boxes a week, because the gun is the difference between a sealed box and a wrestling match.

Mounting tape on a prewar wall

Double sided mounting tape works beautifully on clean painted drywall and poorly on old plaster with a chalky or glossy surface. Wipe the spot with alcohol first, press for thirty seconds, and wait an hour before hanging weight. If the wall is textured, the tape is touching maybe a third of what you think and it will fall.

For anything heavier than a picture frame, use an anchor. There is a whole guide on that.

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