3M Blue Painter's Tape; Overseas sold?

[GrayBeard Phil]

Just a curiosity:

On a couple of threads, our friend Tor (who lives in the UK, IIRC) has posted he doesn't know what "Lavender Tape' or 'Blue Painter's Tape' means. He does mention his finding a 3M product called '60 day tape' with a blue color.

(Aside: the 'Lavender Tape' is a cheaper competitive product to the 3M brand-named product Blue Painter's Tape, which is a type of masking tape. 'Lavender Tape' is a description of it's color, (I don't know it actual brand name and maker) is sold normally in large boxed discount stores like Wal-Mart. The low residue and adhesive bonding strength are not identical, but close, to the 3M brand.)

So I went up to the 3M web site to see if the product (mentioned by Tor) that is sold in the UK and Ireland were the same as North America's Blue Painter's tape.
www.3m.com

Here is a link to a web page on the masking tape sold in USA:
Link to 3M masking tape guide

Well, now, I am more confused. From the International Corporation web site, and click on the link to products sold in UK, and I can find no reference to Blue Painter's masking tape, or any masking tape product. Yet in North America, there are 4 different tapes sold. And they sell large quantities of masking tape in North America.

Now I am confident that the tradition of using masking tape of some kind is just as common in the UK as it is in North America. However, I could only find masking tape under the Automotive painting supplies on the UK products web site.

So, my question of curiosity, is masking tape, all 4 verities (low tack, Blue, regular, High Tack Rough Surface) being sold in hardware stores and paint stores in elsewhere in the world? Or is this just a North American phenomenon?

Opinions? Comments? Other Countries places around the world?

Phil

[Neal Moore]

Just a thought Phil....maybe they call it something other than masking tape on the other side of the pond. Sort of like Loo vs. Toilet or Water Closet etc. Maybe Gill should weigh in on this one??

[Mick Walker]

Phil, my lavender tape is made by DUCK. www.duckproducts.com.

[William Young]

The product I use is Duck Tape (Not to be confused with Duct tape brand name)

I use the purple instead of the the blue rather than having both on hand. The blue has more adhesive on it than purple and it has been said to lift the fibers on some woods when removing it. It also becomes more of a permanent bond if put on the wood and you get busy at some other things before getting back to it.
On the inside of my rolls of purple Duck tape it says *30 Day Perfect Release* and that is true because I have tested it for 45 days and it still came off with zero residue and zero wood raising.

Here is probably all you ever wanted to know about Duck tape

http://www.duckproducts.com/products...atID=1&SubID=1.

I don't know about sources for other countries but it is usually available in Home Depot or Wal-Mart in Canada or USA. They don't always have it in stock but usually either one or the other will have it at any given time so I generally buy several rolls of the 2" wide purple tape whenever I am getting low.

For availability in other countries perhaps inquiring from within their site will bring up some answers.

W.Y.

[GrayBeard Phil]

Thanks Mick and W.Y.

The brand name of the lavender tape is:
"Perfect Release Plus" painter's tape.
Made by the Duck Products division of Henkel Corporation.

Phil

[William Young]

I checked Duck Tape's site for availability and could only find US and Canada.
Here are a bunch of dealer locations that either stock it or can order it in .

http://www.ducktapeclub.com/contests...hereToShop.pdf

W.Y.

[JohnB]

G'day Phil,

We have all the colours of the rainbow here in Oz.

Yellow (sticks like red on a tomato) then green, blue, lavender (Purple)

Two differing brands that I have come across are "Cling" & "3M" The colours are roughly the same for both.

[Tor]

Originally Posted by GrayBeard Phil

Tor (who lives in the UK, IIRC)

Try again. It has been mentioned, but I actually am in the US, way out in the middle of the ocean, near the date line. I suppose I don't make remembering that easy, as I often will use British preferred spellings rather than American preferred spellings. I just like them better for some reason.

The stuff I refer to might be called the blue painter's tape; I refer to "60 day" tape to differentiate it from the more widely found, stickier, and more likely to permanently stick 14 day stuff, which is I think what is usually meant by "blue painter's tape". My Home Depot has both varieties, and there are two differences. The first is labeling, and the second is that the 60 day stuff is smoother.

Then there is what I think of as masking tape, which is white, and sticky (removable, but they never give you any timeline on that). I wouldn't use it at all for my work.

Tor

[Gill]

We certainly do get blue low tack masking tape over here but I don't profess to have any great knowledge about different brands or varieties. I only ever buy it from one of the DIY sheds, and their 'own brand' is substantially cheaper than proprietary brands. So that's what I buy and it seems to do the job .

Gill