Bodywork: Inside protection

[ALEXKYRIAK]

Hi guys, I need to fix some sort of protective film or padding to the inside of my painted lexan shells.

I have a couple of shells that are fitted quite tight to plastic parts on the chassis and body, and I want to stop the parts rubbing on the inside of the shell and scratching the paint off from the inside  

However, I don’t want to fit a sticky film or pad that would also have a detrimental effect on the paint by virtue of the sticky side pulling paint off  

I had in mind some thin sponge single sided sticky padding tape. Is this sort of thing ok to mount on inside of a lexan painted shell, without it pulling paint off over time? 

And whilst I’m asking, I’m considering using Velcro on the inside of a shell as a means of fixing the shell to the body/chassis? Same worries about paint being damaged? I know some people here use the Velcro method.

Any tips or advice would be most welcome - thanks all

 

 

[TurnipJF]

If the shell is well prepared and the paint is properly applied, you should be fine using most adhesive tapes with no detrimental effect on the paint. I have used duct tape, cricket bat repair tape, 3M VHB tape and several others to protect the inside of my shells, and all have come off again without taking the paint with them. 

[ALEXKYRIAK]

Ok cheers mate thanks for the advice.  Cricket bat tape? Wowsers, that’s hardcore stuff...!

[speedy_w_beans]

To help with chassis parts rubbing on paint, I use aluminum tape.  Tamiya sells some, although you can find something similar for less (less per unit length) at the local home improvement store.

Tamiya's tape:  https://www.tamiyausa.com/items/radio-control-parts-70/r-c-maintenance-supplies-65500/rc-aluminum-reinforced-tape-53351

Home improvement equivalent:  https://www.homedepot.com/p/ADO-Products-2-in-x-50-yds-Aluminum-Foil-Tape-Roll-TF25012/302742795

50 yards of the stuff is a lifetime supply!

[Nobbi1977]

Cricket bat tape for me as well. Cheap and sticky 

inside hard run shell start to look dirty fast though, but the outside stays nice and it help stop flex and splits

[Munchbox]

My 2 brothers.. one of them uses spray on bedliner for truck beds to reinforce his shells. He paints it on after his paint job is done and it seems to work pretty well. The other one uses a combination of fiberglass mesh tape and Shoe Goo to rebuild entire sections of lexan shell that have been ripped out.

The latter isnt the most lovely looking thing ever but it is extremely durable. He doesn't worry about ripping body pins through the shell once he's done it he rebuilds it with Shoe Goo and it's good to go.

I have a feeling that with some patience he could probably build an entire shell out of that stuff. 😂

[Juls1]

I’ve always used cloth tape or fiberglass tape on my body’s immediately after painting/before use to reinforce the body. Always worked very well for me. Never has it come off bringing the paint with it. 

I don’t do it to protect the paint. I do it to drastically reduce cracking during impacts. Body’s last easily 3x as long if your a rough with your cars.

[ALEXKYRIAK]

Thanks for the help guys  Will look into some of these and report back. Lifetime roll of aluminium foil is clearly a fundamental essential to life....!

The other thing I’m looking at doing is using some Velcro between the inside of a body and the chassis, to pull some shells closer to the chassis, as sometimes they are a bit loose fitting. This is also partly why I want inside protection.