# Surgical Tape Residue



## Schniapereli (Jul 4, 2007)

I know you can use goo gone, and isopropyl alcohol to clean the tape residue left on cables, but what is the best way to clean the black residue left on actors' necks and faces?

Is the alcohol good for that, or is there a better kind of soap?


----------



## Hughesie (Jul 4, 2007)

we use rubbing alcohol but we use fairly light tape, what tape are you using


----------



## Eboy87 (Jul 4, 2007)

Rubbing alcohol should work. Depending on who it is, you may want to consider a wire brush


----------



## avkid (Jul 4, 2007)

Tell them to take a shower??
But seriously, rubbing alcohol is the easiest option.
Pre-moistened towelettes in packets are cheap and easy if you pay attention at the drugstore.
I use Nexcare™ Flexible Clear First Aid Tape, sometimes sold under the trade name of 3M Transpore Surgical Tape.
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/WW_Nexcare/FirstAidProducts/Products/FirstAid/Tapes/


----------



## Van (Jul 5, 2007)

Baby oil, Cold cream, and Yes WD-40. 

Again depending who it's on you could tell them to use M.E.K.
< tongue planted tightly in cheek>


----------



## What Rigger? (Jul 6, 2007)

M.E.K., Van????

Jeezus, I was "only" going to joke about using 40 grit sandpaper and gasoline.

DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE COMMENT IS ONLY A JOKE AND NOT TO BE USED AS A REAL SOLUTION TO ANYTHING! EVER!


----------



## Van (Jul 6, 2007)

What Rigger? said:


> M.E.K., Van????
> 
> Jeezus, I was "only" going to joke about using 40 grit sandpaper and gasoline.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: THE ABOVE COMMENT IS ONLY A JOKE AND NOT TO BE USED AS A REAL SOLUTION TO ANYTHING! EVER!


 

I thought I had made that clear but in case I hadn't......
Methyl Ethyl Ketone is a Highly carcinogenic compound, It is extremely volatile, and can kill you dead. It's also extremely Flamable, Extremely noxious, and the fumes hang around forever. It should only be used in situations where it is specifically called for < such as the dilution , and clean up of certain Poly-urethane compounds> and only with the utmost eye on Safety precautions, such as but not limited to the use of an organic compound filtration device, or self contained breathing aparatus. It can be absorbed through skin contact, the fumes can be absorbed through the eyes, causeing irratation and ultimately Blindness. 
MEK should never be used unless all safety/health issues are being observed. 

'Course 60 grit sandpaper would work............


----------



## avkid (Jul 6, 2007)

I have used lighter fluid to remove gum from carpets on occasion(can't these dummies read the signs?)


----------



## Eboy87 (Jul 6, 2007)

avkid said:


> I have used lighter fluid to remove gum from carpets on occasion(can't these dummies read the signs?)



A luthier told me a great seceret on cleaning guitar fretboards: use Zippo lighter fluid, it cleans the gunk right off. THen use a fretboard conditioner to but the moisture back in the wood. Works like a charm. And now back to your regularly schedualed program.


----------



## Van (Jul 7, 2007)

Lighter fluid is Napatha. It's toxicity is so-so, I beleive the State of California has it declared as a known Carcinogen. An advantage of using Naptha on fingerboards or other areas of a musical instrument is that it wont disolve the casien < animal> glue use in higher end instruments, but it goes right through a lot of common stains. It is, however, Extremely Flamable, as it's use as lighter fluid will atest to. WD-40 is the fluid of choice for removeing sticker residue, gum, etc., off of most plastics, fabrics, carpets, surfaces 
Believe it or not, another great way to get gum out of carpet is to slather the area with peanut butter. The peanut oil is an excellent penetrant.


----------



## avkid (Jul 7, 2007)

Van said:


> Believe it or not, another great way to get gum out of carpet is to slather the area with peanut butter. The peanut oil is an excellent penetrant.


Then the carpet smells like peanuts until you break out the toxic foaming carpet cleaner.


----------



## Eboy87 (Jul 8, 2007)

Better than some of the alternative smells that can usually be found in carpets. That coming from a dog owner of course... 


Random pondering: Wonder if peanut butter will get the crap off my mic cables...


----------



## Hughesie (Jul 8, 2007)

yes, ok we all want to kill actors but i think we should move back to the topic that was first presented, maybe all options have been stated though

any other thoughts on getting residue off an actors neck?


----------



## Eboy87 (Jul 8, 2007)

charcoaldabs said:


> Is that coming from a dog owner too?


No, then I would have said lawn mower tires and my steel toed boots.


----------



## What Rigger? (Jul 8, 2007)

Van said:


> I thought I had made that clear but in case I hadn't......
> Methyl Ethyl Ketone is a Highly carcinogenic compound, It is extremely volatile, and can kill you dead. It's also extremely Flamable, Extremely noxious, and the fumes hang around forever. It should only be used in situations where it is specifically called for < such as the dilution , and clean up of certain Poly-urethane compounds> and only with the utmost eye on Safety precautions, such as but not limited to the use of an organic compound filtration device, or self contained breathing aparatus. It can be absorbed through skin contact, the fumes can be absorbed through the eyes, causeing irratation and ultimately Blindness.
> MEK should never be used unless all safety/health issues are being observed.
> 'Course 60 grit sandpaper would work............




Hey Van, I was only using the enormo-tron sized font to cover my ***. Never know whut kinda idjits are on here. Just you mentioning M.E.K. (tongue in cheek) makes me laugh, 'cause I know that you know how gnarly that stuff is.


----------



## gafftaper (Jul 8, 2007)

I would say the first thing to do is buy some better tape to avoid the problem in the first place as much as possible. After that, just some soapy water and maybe a little sponge scrubbing should do the trick. If you can find them baby wipes WITH ALCOHOL are fabulous... but hard to find these days. Baby wipes in general are the magic tool for removing all types of makeup by the way. 

I also want to point out the Mercury won't just make the goo slide right off, it will kill you and the EPA will probably have to tear down your theater afterward. So don't try that. 

Belt Sander anyone?


----------



## Andy_Leviss (Jul 8, 2007)

gafftaper said:


> I would say the first thing to do is buy some better tape to avoid the problem in the first place as much as possible.



You'd think so, but Transpore and Blenderm are top of the line tapes, and they do at times leave residue. Anything stuck to the body and mixed in with the body's normal oils and dirt is going to end up leaving something occasionally.


----------



## Van (Jul 9, 2007)

Hughesie89 said:


> yes, ok we all want to kill actors but i think we should move back to the topic that was first presented, maybe all options have been stated though
> 
> any other thoughts on getting residue off an actors neck?


Well, as I stated earlier, Baby Oil is bar far the best I know of for removing tape residue from skin. That stuff from Avon, "Skin So Soft" works well too. 



What Rigger? said:


> Hey Van, I was only using the enormo-tron sized font to cover my ***. Never know whut kinda idjits are on here. Just you mentioning M.E.K. (tongue in cheek) makes me laugh, 'cause I know that you know how gnarly that stuff is.


 
No Prob. I picked up on that, and I think I should have put a bigger disclaimer on that post anyway. Sometimes I get carried away with the sarcasm and forget the fact that there might be some well meaning, yet unknowledgeable, young buck out there who might just see that can of MEK in the paint closet and say, " Oh Yeah the stuff Van talked about..." I sometimes forget the inexpirience of some on here.


----------



## Chris15 (Jul 9, 2007)

Van said:


> No Prob. I picked up on that, and I think I should have put a bigger disclaimer on that post anyway. Sometimes I get carried away with the sarcasm and forget the fact that there might be some well meaning, yet unknowledgeable, young buck out there who might just see that can of MEK in the paint closet and say, " Oh Yeah the stuff Van talked about..." I sometimes forget the inexpirience of some on here.



And the difference between using MEK and acetone is? We used MEK to get some nasty gunk off someone's hands the other week, but as has been mentioned, be VERY VERY careful with it. Get whatever it is off and then flush the area ASAP with water.

But in general, if service have been using MEK to clean soldering iron tips or anything else, I will know about it fro the other end of the building...

WD40 also comes in liquid form for those of us who do use it for cleaning in bulk... works wonders on cable... but so does turps & elbow grease. That also gets whoever pulled the short straw of cleaning the years old gaff tape residue off a cable high as a kite...


----------



## Van (Jul 9, 2007)

Chris15 said:


> And the difference between using MEK and acetone is? We used MEK to get some nasty gunk off someone's hands the other week, but as has been mentioned, be VERY VERY careful with it. Get whatever it is off and then flush the area ASAP with water.
> 
> But in general, if service have been using MEK to clean soldering iron tips or anything else, I will know about it fro the other end of the building...
> 
> WD40 also comes in liquid form for those of us who do use it for cleaning in bulk... works wonders on cable... but so does turps & elbow grease. That also gets whoever pulled the short straw of cleaning the years old gaff tape residue off a cable high as a kite...


 

"Danger Will Robinson! Danger!" 
MEK Should never Repeat that, NEVER be used on bare skin. It is most toxic/irratating on the skin, even more so than through inhalation. 
All the Ketones are nasty chemicals which tend to "eat" the fat from your skin.
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/methylet.html
http://www.bu.edu/es/labsafety/ESMSDSs/MSAcetone.html

Beyond that;
Acetone is DiMethylKetone
MEK is MethylEthylKetone
So that difference is is one Ethyl. 
There is also a Peroxide version of MEK which is MEKP, it is also a nasty, icky chemical that should never be used on the skin, being a peroxide, it has an even more aggresive approach to human skin. 

I'd tell the soldering guys to go get some good old dip flux for those soldering irons.


----------



## jkowtko (Jul 11, 2007)

What's the difference between the Transpore and the Nexcare First Aide Flexible Clear tape? And for that matter, also the Micropore and Durapore tapes. Is there a clear difference between these or are they all close to the same.

I use the First Aide Flexible Clear, and it's worked really well except for the sometimes behind the ear or down the neck where the actors sweat a lot. Do the other tapes hold better? 

And, is rubbing alcohol the best thing to use for mike cords? I think Countryman told me to use butyl alcohol -- is there a difference?

Thanks. John


----------



## Van (Jul 11, 2007)

jkowtko said:


> ..................And, is rubbing alcohol the best thing to use for mike cords? I think Countryman told me to use butyl alcohol -- is there a difference?
> 
> Thanks. John


 
I know squat about tape but I'd be happy to answer the alcohol question. 
butyl alcohol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanol
is different from Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

Butyl alcohol is a much stronger solvent and therefore I would tend to shy away from it more than I would the use of Isopropyl, although for a really stubborn amount of goo it would be suitible. I'll stand by my earlier posts however, and say that there are several alternatives. Simple Green is a very good solvent for tape residue as is WD-40. Simple Green is also Biodegradable and therefoe a bit nicer to the enviroment. there are also several citrus based solvents availible that work wonders on cords.


----------



## Andy_Leviss (Jul 14, 2007)

jkowtko said:


> What's the difference between the Transpore and the Nexcare First Aide Flexible Clear tape? And for that matter, also the Micropore and Durapore tapes. Is there a clear difference between these or are they all close to the same.



On the former, the only difference is the labeling. Transpore is the name they use selling it to hospitals and other institutions; if you look closely, the flexible clear tape (at least as it's packaged in the US) actually has the name Transpore on the package in fine print. 

I'm not familiar with the other two brands you mentioned. Here in the US, standard recommendations are Transpore, Blenderm, and Tegaderm, all from 3M/Nexcare.

--A


----------



## jkowtko (Jul 16, 2007)

Thanks Andy ... looks like we're about as good as we can get on the tape then. 

This may be going a bit off topic, but I'm thinking of trying the lav under the wig for actors who will have permanent mic assignments and wigs. My first thought would be to put the cord under the hairnet cap if they have one, then a thin piece of tape high up on the forehead if absolutely needed. What type of adhesive is generally used on the forehead? Or do people always use the halo cords (they look like they would show, and our stage is small, so the front row audience is only a few feet from the actors).

Thanks. John


----------



## Schniapereli (Jul 16, 2007)

I've heard of people not even taping the mics out on the forehead. Last show I did, an old tech taught us to just put a bobby pin by the mic, and stick in their real hair under the wig, and just have the mic bairly sticking out.

I think I've also heard of people just using a little spirit gum, if you want to bring it further down than that.


----------



## DarthFader (Mar 2, 2013)

Schniapereli said:


> I know you can use goo gone, and isopropyl alcohol to clean the tape residue left on cables, but what is the best way to clean the black residue left on actors' necks and faces?
> 
> Is the alcohol good for that, or is there a better kind of soap?



After many years I've finally found the perfect answer. Go to the medical supply house (where you buy your tape) and ask for Ostomy Adhesive Remover. The brand I use is "Smith & Nephew UniSolve Liquid Adhesive Remover." Its a bit pricey (like there was anything about theater that is not), but it takes just a trace of it on a wipe or a cotton ball. The liquid is about $7.00 for 8 0z. There have prepackaged wipes like alcohol wipes, but I've not used that product. It takes no pressure, or scrubbing; its completely non toxic, and is actually soothing on the red irritated skin where the tape has been. Sometimes I don't use it every day but my actors all know its available when they want it. I'm sure there are other brands that would work, but I haven't tried them. Give it a try. You will love it!


----------



## TheaterEd (Mar 7, 2013)

Will it work on cords as well?


----------

