# Medium-Low Tack Tape for Wood Rehearsal Floors



## thomp01d (Jun 25, 2014)

Inherited a situation - current rehearsal hall floor is finished tongue and groove, and is also used as a rental space and mixed use room. Spike tape, when left for a month of rehearsal, tends to pull up finish when removed. We had switched to artist's tape (console tape), but it tends to come up almost immediately when subjected to dancing or heavy traffic.

My long term solution is to purchase vinyl dance floor, but until the capital upgrade request is allocated, I need to find a solution that keeps both Facilities and Stage Management happy.

Has anyone had luck with a medium-low tack tape - between spike and artist's? Alternatively, do you have a creative idea that has worked for you?

dbt


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## Footer (Jun 25, 2014)

Get a better finish on the floor. Any tape that needs to be down that long is going to bond to the finish over time and pull it up. When you lay the floor, the tape you tape it down with will leave you in the same situation. Go to the paint store and talk to them about it... see if they have a harder finish you could put down. I used to have all kinds of issues with gaff pulling up my stage floor. After switching to an acrylic paint and gluing the rough parts of the floor it took care of the issue.


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## kiwitechgirl (Jun 26, 2014)

My roller derby league pretty much ruined a floor by taping out a track (we skate flat track, not banked) and leaving it down over a weekend. Pulled it up on Sunday evening and took chunks of the varnish with it (to be fair, it didn't help that the varnish job was terrible - they'd put oil-based varnish over water-based). What we do now is put down some 3M blue low-tack tape (I think it's this one) and then put our usual track tape over the top of it (the red/white or yellow/black striped tape). It holds up for four hours of skaters sliding over it, rolling wheels over it, tomahawk stopping over it - basically it takes a lot of abuse! - but pulls up beautifully cleanly with no damage to the floor. Could be worth doing a patch test in an inconspicuous corner somewhere at least.


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## len (Jun 26, 2014)

thomp01d said:


> Inherited a situation - current rehearsal hall floor is finished tongue and groove, and is also used as a rental space and mixed use room. Spike tape, when left for a month of rehearsal, tends to pull up finish when removed. We had switched to artist's tape (console tape), but it tends to come up almost immediately when subjected to dancing or heavy traffic.
> 
> My long term solution is to purchase vinyl dance floor, but until the capital upgrade request is allocated, I need to find a solution that keeps both Facilities and Stage Management happy.
> 
> ...


Painter's tape. I don't know about long-term adhesion, residue, etc., but a couple venues I work at don't like tape on the floor, so I put painter's tape down first, then brown gaff over that to make it blend in. Most of the time we use mats, but that doesn't work for spikes.


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## gafftapegreenia (Jun 26, 2014)

A few venues I've worked in have only allowed blue painters tape on their floors. Give that a try and see how it works. 


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## len (Jun 26, 2014)

Or you could try painter's tape.


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## Footer (Jun 26, 2014)

gafftapegreenia said:


> A few venues I've worked in have only allowed blue painters tape on their floors. Give that a try and see how it works.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free



HATE that stuff. It shreds.. and when it shreds it i takes forever to take up.


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## Carl75 (Aug 8, 2014)

make sure you clean the floor before you put tape down. Just wipe with a damp cloth and dry. Blue Tape will not stick down if it's on top of dust or dirt. I use Blue painters tape and don't have too much trouble.


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## venuetech (Aug 9, 2014)

Footer said:


> HATE that stuff. It shreds.. and when it shreds it i takes forever to take up.


You can take a plastic putty knife and sharpen it to a chisel edge with sandpaper. or do the same with a wooden tongue depressor cut square on one end. the wood/plastic is usually softer than the finish so it does not scratch (test in inconspicuous area) sharpen often. good for removing gum/stickers/tape from painted surfaces.


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