Hi,

I got tape a few months back but decided to wait for the weather/temperature to improved as I was told the tape would stick better on a warm day which makes sense. So on Saturday I gave my bike a good wash and clean, applied my rim tape (firmly) and put her back in the garage. Later that night when in the garage again, just to look at how much the look of my bike had improved with a simple bit of rim tape, parts of it had just peeled off. What I'm asking I suppose is for any tips or advice on how to prepare the rim & apply the tape correctly without it peeling off.

Thanks, in advance :-)

 

the peeling is due to oil/wax residue on the rims -- you gotta make sure to get all that stuff off before applying. wash them several times with your favorite degreaser.

 

Thanks, I thought I had washed them enough, but obviously not, either that or I just bought cheap stickers, I just want to make sure the same thing doesn't happen again.

cheers.

 

Agree with regener8ed

You need a good degreaser - I use bodyclean or panelwipe - the stuff painters wipe a panel down with before they spray it.

Also good practice to warm the rim and tape up a little with a hairdryer to get best results

 

Thanks Dean0,

I'll have a word with our store man in work here to see if he has anything like that. Should have my new tape by Wednesday so it'll give me a good few days to give the rims a good scrub

Cheers,

 

This may be a silly question but... would petrol do the same job as a degreaser?

 

Not quite - petrol and diesel still contain some oil in them.

paint thinners would do it - just be careful if your wheels have been sprayed since they left the factory - thinners will melt some paints.

You can also get the small alcohol wipes from the motorfactors used to prep the glass before sticking your rear view mirror on.

 

Aha, Thanks again mate, very much appreciate the advice.

Cheers.

 

if you havent done this already. use some chepo dollar store rubbing alchol and some papertowel, i find it easier to jackup the bike so you can spin the wheel freely. a lot of times oil from your chain gets on it so rubbing alchol works great for taking it off. you can also put the same thing on your car btw.
brake cleaner works too but its a bit too $ for this job.

 

Cheers MrHEX,
I was told to use brake cleaner by a work colleague who races bikes but they also said it might be a bit pricey for what I'm using it for but I managed to get my hands on alcohol cleaning wipes in work today (for free), so where the old tape has peeled off I'm going to clean that section with the alcohol wipes, dry it and apply one of the 2 spare bits of tape I have left over, if it sticks then I know what to use when my new tape arrives.
Thanks again :-)