# Liquid electrical tape



## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

Anyone use this, I bought some today at Home Depot, looks cool.

Just want to know if it holds up outdoors, says it has a waterproof seal.

Tom h


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## flats (Jun 30, 2008)

I have about 10 years ago on my splices of feeder to track 
from the no.12 wire. Still in good shape have had no shorts 
or volts loss that I can read. I did put some silicone caulking 
over the joints though to help. It was a lot easer to use than tape 
and dried petty quick. 

Ken owner of K&K the road to nowhere


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## Andre Anderson (Jan 3, 2008)

Greetings,

Yes I have used it, I used to own both a large truck (Peterbuilt) and a boat and used it on both vehicles. I learned about it at a ship Chandler when they recommended to cover all connections and splices on the boat, once I started using it I had no more electrical problems caused by water getting into the wires. Salt water will actually cause the wire to dissolve, well not actually dissolve but turn green and crumble away to the point that there is nothing left but green dust, Liquid electrical tape stopped water from getting into the wire thus no corrosion. I had the same problem with my Peterbuilt and the wiring harness from the salt put on the roads in the winter time, once I started using it on the big truck again I did not have any failures due to corrosion. When I had my out door railroad I used it on all of the connections that were out side, first I would solder the joint then I would cover with Liquid Electrical tape and then I would cover with heat shrink tubing just be sure, I probably did not need the shrink tubing but I used it anyway. I can't recommend this product any more strongly than I have, it keeps water out permanently.


PS I have also used it to put rubber handles on pliers and such.


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## Brendan (Jan 12, 2008)

What's the actual product name and who makes it.


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## livesteam53 (Jan 4, 2008)

I have used it on my construction crews electrical cords that had the plastic cut for many years. 

Never a problem and saved a lot of $'s not having to buy new cords due to a small cuts.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I use it all the time and love it. It lasts a loooong time. Note that it does have a solvent that will marr plastic and is difficult to remove in thin layers so watch those "drips."


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

The can I have is 3" tall,Red with yellow print. 
Name; Brush-on Electrical Tape 
Danger; poison-Irritant 
flamable 
Also great as gasket sealer and thread locker...well that's what it sez.








Available in Red or Black 

John


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## bvdrr (Jan 3, 2008)

I bought some to use as tar for the roofs of my beehive brick kilms that had cracked. The roofs where made of concrete patching material which was only 1/4" thick and had cracked from weather .I painted it on with a small paint brush and it looked just like someone had patched them with tar.


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## tom h (Jan 2, 2008)

Niiice, sounds like It will work nice, I got green, Home Depot sells 4 colors, white, green, black and red.

Gardner benson is what I bought.

Tom h


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I think it's wise to cover it with something that blocks UV, as far as I can tell, there is no UV inhibitor (nor would you expect it)... A wrap of black tape, or shrink sounds like a good idea. 

Regards, Greg


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## mgilger (Feb 22, 2008)

Greg,
I've been using this for about 5 years now, with no UV deterioration. I originally started using it on my Ham Radio antenna projects. I bring the antenna’s down each fall to check on them before the cold weather sets in and so far I have not had to redo any of the locations where it's used. Since then I have started using on the RR projects. Any point where I connect a wire on the track gets a blob of it. I also use it on the underside of the switches. On the bottom side, under the plastic cover are some electrical connections. Those all get a dab over the screw connection. 

So far, so good.
Mark http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Mark, please give us the brand, nothing better than something tested for 5 years! 

Thanks, Greg


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## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg...here's the HD stuff...works good. Didn't know it came in colors. Liquid Electrical Tape

I've use this kind of stuff for years on my outdoor electricals...and most lately, on my car when a mouse ate some insulation off a $3800 wiring harness.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

In the sun? I think the car repair is not in the sun. 

Looking for proven UV resistance, or the formulation stating so. 

I have it in my garage already, in both red and black colors in the bottles, and in spray cans. None of them talk about UV resistance. 

Thanks, Greg


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## RIrail (May 5, 2008)

The StarBright brand states UV resistant on the manufacters site. 

http://starbrite.com/productdetail....oductSSCat=

This brand is used often for marine applications.

Steve


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Perfect Steve, will look for that brand. 

Marine grade stuff is usually top quality, since the ocean is trying to dissolve anything you put into it! 

Greg


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## livesteam53 (Jan 4, 2008)

Starbrite is the product I used on the outdoor electrical cords for the construction crews. 
They held in the summer in Las Vegas and cold winters on the jobs in Denver.


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## mgilger (Feb 22, 2008)

Greg,
The only brand that I've used so far has been the Plasti Dip Liquid Electrical Tape Coating LET14Z01. I get it from my local Harbor Freight, or Home Depot store. The others mentioned might be the same thing,but I have not used those. Plasti Dip has a good reputation and the company is well known. 
Mark

http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Plasti Dip (which I have a few cans of) makes no mention of UV resistance where they specify the temperature range.

Safe to say it's not UV resistant.

Greg


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## mgilger (Feb 22, 2008)

I suspect the reason I have not seen any deterioration in using this is because it's black. Would be interesting to do a test with another color and after another 5 years compare results, although after that long I would forget why I was running the test. 

I did a search for UV Resitance and found this that might explain why the Black Plasti Dip seems to be working for me. 

"Light degrades plastics by transferring its energy into the plastic. This energy can cause damage by creating heat, or this energy can actually break molecular bonds in a plastic’s structure. Both the heat and the breaking of bonds can create a loss of physical properties in the plastic. The higher energy of the UVB rays causes almost all UV damage in plastics. Regular visible light causes almost no degradation even over many years of exposure. 

Opaque plastics are plastics that light does not pass through. In an opaque plastic the light has to break down the outer layer before it can break down the inner section of the plastic. The inner layer of plastic can retain its strength much longer the more opaque the plastic. If a plastic is completely black (or some other opaque colour) then the light only acts on the surface and much less damage will occur over time. 


In a clear plastic film, the UVB light acts on the entire thickness at once, and failure occurs at the same time throughout the thickness of the plastic (clear films degrade rapidly). So our first step is to make plastics that will be exposed as opaque as possible. Most lining materials used for exposed linings are heavily loaded with carbon black or other pigments to make them opaque. 


The thickness of the lining material is also a factor in UV resistance. Thicker materials allow the surface to suffer some UV degradation while still retaining the strength in the inner core material. In exposed lining materials a thickness over 40 mil (1.0 mm) is usually recommended for long term UV resistance. In materials where the strength is provided by a fabric (supported materials) an opaque coating of typically 0.4 mm (15 mils) on each side is required to prevent UV degradation of the fabric’s strength" 

I'm not sure that Plati Dip could be considered Plastic, as in the above example, but for a lack of another explanation it might work for this application. 

This and much more can be read at:

http://www.layfieldenvironmental.co...px?id=5030

Mark
http://mmg-garden-rr.webs.com/


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

I like Plasti-Dip, I have used it for several different purposes. But I have found that although it is very sticky when it is wet, after it cures it shrinks away from what has been dipped in it and can come off quite easily if the coated object does not have deep ribs or "tooth" to keep the mass from slipping.

I made my own walking cane and dipped the end in Plasti-Dip several times over a day or so to get a good rubber tip. A few days later the whole thing fell off. I had to chuck the cane tip in my lathe and cut some channels and make the end a bit of a cone shape (broad at the bottom) and now the rubber tip stays put. It does wear out after a couple of years and then I just cut it down one side with a sharp knife and peal it off. Then I go through the dipping process again to renew it.

I would be afraid if I used it as tape on an electrical connection it would let moisture into the joint which would oxidize the copper after a while. I have seen automotive wires that had cracked insulation do this... the copper shrank in diameter down to nothing where it stayed wet under the split insulation.


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## GaryR (Feb 6, 2010)

I use the plasti-dip. I wrote them years ago and asked about this. They said it was synthetic rubber and was good for up to 10 years in the sun. I'd used it to dressup the vinyl top on a car. lasted longer than the rest of the car top. Now I use it on darn near everything.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

They have 2 versions, the normal stuff, 3-5 years, the UV stuff, which is called Plasti-dip/UV, is up to 10 years.

*http://www.plastidip.com/docs/F-819...%20OEM.pdf* 


Maybe years ago the UV was standard, it's not now.

The stuff in HD is most likely not the UV rated stuff... 


Greg


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

I use Plasti-dip from a spray can to coat the exterior of my JBL horns in my HT. This reduces the resonance of the aluminum reducing ringing. When you "rap" an uncoated horn with you finger/screwdriver/etc., it rings like a bell. A coated horn "thunks."


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