Removing gorilla tape residue

Rubber eraser drill attachment?

goo-gone?

You're supposed to put electrical tape underneath it. Full tubeless functionality with zero residue.

I've had success in the past using a hair dryer to warm it up but it's a two person job

Tend now to use Specialized 2Bliss Ready Rim Strip as it works better than anything else I've used

You’re supposed to put electrical tape underneath it. Full tubeless functionality with zero residue.

Came to say exactly this ^

Obviously not much use right now though!

If you're retaping with Gorilla tape, just tape over the residue.

Petrol will shift it I expect…

GT85 on a cloth works for me, but you then obviously have to de-grease the rim as well.

WD40 point cleaner did it for me. Loads of it on a non linting cloth. Still takes some elbow grease and I was high as a kite by the time I'd finished.

Tesa 4289 is stans tubeless tape, comes in 65 metre rolls for around 10 quid. Why bother with the faf of gorrila tape when better alternatives are so cheap.

https://www.vikingtapes.co.uk/products/tesa-4289-tubeless-bike-wheel-rim-tape-32mm-x-66m?variant=39318301147199

@MSP thanks I've made a note of that link.

Warm it up with hairdryer, once you pick some off roll it into a ball to dab more off. Comes off quickly and easily that way, not that I'd ever use gorilla tape for tubeless again.

Petrol is about the best for this ime, but it's still horrible.

sharkattack
Full Member

You’re supposed to put electrical tape underneath it. Full tubeless functionality with zero residue.

Or, just don't use the gorilla tape. Electrical tape is a perfectly good tubeless tape by itself.

Washing up sponge soaked in GT85 has never failed at removing stubborn sticky residue for me, it keeps the GT85 on the surface better than a rag or paper towels, I spray it on the rim first and rub it in with my thumb so it gets to work soaking into the sticky residue.

You might have more luck with a more aggressive solvent such as acetone, ethyl acetate or also try lighter fluid (works well on silicon oil and lipstick)

If ethyl acetate doesn't shift it then just tape over it

You’re supposed to put electrical tape underneath it. Full tubeless functionality with zero residue.

Tend now to use Specialized 2Bliss Ready Rim Strip as it works better than anything else I’ve used

One of the above is the best, the one time i did use Gorila tape without electrical tape i ended up removing the residue by doing the following

Warm up one section of the rim at a time using a hair dryer, this gets the residue nice and sticky, then i got a thick cloth glove and went over that section getting off as much residue that would stick to the glove, then with a fresh glove cloth i went around again after soaking the finger tips in Isopropyl alcohol, this seemed to clean off the left over residue

IPA + time + elbow grease.

Oh yeah you can get good results rubbing it off with a thumb, it'll ball up and stick to you as much as the rim and then you can wipe or flick it off... but be careful, it's very very easy to blister yourself- localised surface heat I think?

Disc brake cleaner.

Pissed.

1,1,1, trichloromethane

Wool. It really works.

Trust me 😉

I had some success with swarfega of all things.

Thanks!

I have lighter fluid, I think I've got a can of petrol for some hedge trimmers, I'm out of swarfega and I'll borrow my wife's hair dryer.

I used some Tesla tape on another pair of wheels. It was significantly better than gorilla tape.

I bought some muckoff stuff and used that on another rim- it went on brilliantly.

Unfortunately the Tesla tape and muck off tape I have are both too narrow for this rim.

Autoglym tar remover. Quality stuff.

Multisolve, if it gets rid of CT1 it should shift anything

Propan-2-ol?

Tesa tape is great if you can get it to stick to the rim and conform to the contours. I found it a right **** to use with runs with a pronounced centre well.

If your reapplying monkey tape, just put it over the top, always worked for me. I've found if I just rip the tape off it leaves loads behind. If I remove it slowly it leaves far less.

I've taken to using Gorilla tape to seal, then a layer of electrical tape over the top as a sacrificial thing. Then it doesn't pull the Gorilla tape off when I change tyres.

Coleman fuel or primus fuel is nicer to use than petrol

Weirdly bicarbonate of soda works well with sticky residue. Rub it on, the gunk balls up and sticks to the soda then drops off as it loses it's stickiness. I've used it loads for getting residue off surfaces, tape and stickers especially

tall_martin
Full Member

I bought some muckoff stuff and used that on another rim- it went on brilliantly.

Unfortunately the Tesla tape and muck off tape I have are both too narrow for this rim.

Mentioned this above but it bears repeating, one thing to note is that a lot of rims don't need to be taped full width- a welded rim (which most quality rims are) is already airtight except for the holes. That didn't used to matter much, but modern rims got so wide that often you can simply tape the middle, in the recess, and not tape the parts where the tyre touches at all. This works miles better, because since the tyre doesn't touch the tape, it doesn't get stuck to it, and there's no chance of it pushing the tape off as you remove the tyre- #1 reason for having to retape a rim ime.

Most of my rims now are done this way, just 2 wraps of PVC/electric tape in the centre recess, wide enough to safely cover the holes but not wide enough to contact the tyre. You basically never have to redo it unless you break a spoke.

(there's no middle ground here though- if the tape's not as wide as the tyre, but wide enough that it goes out of the recess, then the tyre will probably tear the tape off the first time you remove it)

https://imgur.com/ylp2vko

I've never had to but I'm guessing that warming and then using a length of new gorilla tape might pick up the residue

((working on a diagram))

I guess all the above suggestions involve using an acidic solvent.

Bicarbonate of soda is very mildly alkali and is available from any supermarket for 60p.

works great at deodorising shoes, too…”do the skake and vac”👍

Seriously, put away the aggressive chemicals and warm it up with a hairdryer, then it comes off dabbing with a bit of picked off residue or the sticky side of another bit of tape.

In true, contrary STW spirit, could I just unhelpfully suggest Mavic UST rims that don't need tape at all?

But hairdryer has worked for me in the past. Heat and rub off.

That is an excellent diagram 😃

I have some Mavic ust rims- great wheels.

Unfortunately they are 26" and al my MTB are 29"

Is it anything like normal 3M gaffa tape residue? I've used 3M and Gorilla tape and don't remember the residue being different. I find GT85 gets rid of gaffa tape gunk better than solvents anyway. Of course I tried the solvents first .. then tried GT85 when solvents didn't work. Messy job still, need plenty of clean cloth to remove what the GT85 loosens.

Petrol takes everything off and is cheap.

If you’re retaping with Gorilla tape, just tape over the residue.

+1

That's a Gorilla tape-only rim now.

Tesa tape is great if you can get it to stick to the rim and conform to the contours. I found it a right **** to use with runs with a pronounced centre well.

Also +1

Have used Gorilla tape in the past & it works brilliantly - tried the tesa stans equivalent I wasn't impressed at all. It's cheap but it's not got the same stretch & pliability that Gorilla tape has

If you’re retaping with Gorilla tape, just tape over the residue.

This.

Thanks
Went to use lighter fluid- couldn't find it
Gt 85- can was empty

Petrol- working well. 30 min of scrubbing with a cloth and it's half done

I've used Muc Off Glue and Sealant remover to get gorilla tape residue off of a pair of rims, worked really easily.

Trick with Stans/Tesa/Roval and similiar is tension, and lots of it. You need to be really stretching it out along the length of the tape as it goes on, which is awkward as you're pulling at 90 degrees to the radius of the wheel and it wants to turn. Grip with feet and knees, pull with arm, is the best way ime, work in fairly short stretches (easier if you have about 12 inches of tape "pulled", but only stick about 6, then pull another 6 off the role, the extra bit that's loose helps with the stretching on/tensioning)

If you get enough tension on it like this then it'll naturally pull into the recess as that's the shortest route around the wheel. It's not very stretchy so if you don't get it on like this it's really hard to make it conform to the wheel.

That said, I've pretty much stopped using it, it's fine I guess especially with a narrower rim or a pinned unsealed rim where you can't do the partial taping.

BadlyWiredDog
Full Member

In true, contrary STW spirit, could I just unhelpfully suggest Mavic UST rims that don’t need tape at all?

Aye, if you want to substitute tape with "far harder to build wheels and weighs way more, enough that Mavic lie about the weights for the entire range, so you end up with a narrower or weaker wheel for the same weight" then they're great.

@northwind

Thanks!

I've finally got round to removing all the residue. The garage was absolutely reaking of petrol by the end.

The 28mm tape was too narrow for the rim, so I've ordered some 32mm Tessa tape. Best part of £30 including delivery so at 66m hopefully I'll use that on other wheels.

In the meantime I've put the narrow Tessa tape in the middle of the rim and pumped up the tire. It's gone up no problem, I'll see how it goes overnight before adding sealant.

I had Mavic ust 26" wheels for ages. They were great until I tried to buy a spoke- £15 for one, plus driving 1h round trip to the only shop I could find that could/ would order some.

Then some nipples exploded due to age and being retrued. They had to be drilled out. The wheels were 7 years old at this point and Mavic had stopped doing soares. It was cheaper to buy an entire 2nd hand wheel set with some damaged spokes than trying and get any spokes.

Put me right off fancy factory wheel sets.

I've still got two functional fronts in the garage. They are being horded until my kids need 26" wheels. I have a 26" fork to go with it. The rear jammed a couple of times and I couldn't work out why. Possibly that will be useful, possibly not!

In addition to tension, I think that pressure matters, esp with that stiff tape; shove an inner tube in overnight just to pat it down nicely  when you put your last layer on