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The Goodwills in my area like to wrap everything in packing tape. Presumably to keep people from taking things out of boxes but still, it can be a bit much.
No, I didn’t pay that price. I paid $.70 lb – so maybe $1.50.
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I’ll cut the tape as best I can and indicate “the box is a little banged up and has tape on it”.
They do this to everything that goes to the stores. Puzzles, games… I once picked up a stack of illustrations with educational explanations on the back. I couldn’t get the tape off the first or last picture – which really stunk because the first one was a super cute whale. -
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Amen MyCottage: We buy 5″ wide stretch wrap 12 rolls at a time. Way cheaper than 2″ wide tape, and if the Stores would start using it, they would actually save money. For the same $2.75 roll instead of 55 yards [165 linear feet], they will get 1,000 feet of stretch wrap.
Several wraps going in all directions will actually totally encapsulate the product and you can’t tear that type of plastic. The more you pull on it the stronger it gets.
We use it all the time after we bubble wrap our delicate items. The stretch wrap is part of our 6 layer special cocoon packing process. I think everybody should have a few rolls of stretch wrap in their packing materials.
The 24″ wide rolls are great for wrapping furniture, around table legs, and “cocooning” larger items with odd appendages.
Also another good thing about stretch wrap is that it spans wide “negative” voids and spaces and adds a layer of protection across wide voids.
I haven’t tried actually stretch wrapping the complete outside shipping box, but wonder if it would be cheaper than taping a box closed, even though it would take more material. Think that may be an experiment I may try. Cheaper, faster, stronger..Sounds good to me.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
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The problem with stretch wrapping a box is that it doesn’t adhere to the paper fibers. Proper packaging tape is designed to adhere and tear the top layer of paper fibers on a box – stretch wrap is meant not to stick to boxes. If the stretch wrap gets torn, the box will be compromised.
The cheapest solution for carton sealing is hot melt glue – however, it is messy.
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Yeah, sure stretch wrap doesn’t adhere. That’s why is is good for wrapping the products themselves, i.e. the sugessted method for Goodwill to use to bundle items.
For boxes, sure, you are correct. No adhesion to the paper of the boxes. Just thinking outloud.
But for boxes when we shipped thousand of boxes to WalMart, Home depot, General electric, Stanley Hardware, etc., etc. we found reinforced 3″ wide paper tape that has a water based adhesive the best. It is the kind Amazon uses also, that black tape with the embedded fibers in it.
We had dozens of tape machines in the shipping dept on the kit packing tables loaded with 12″ dia. rolls of the stuff. The machines worked by using a punch pad just like a touch phone. You would just punch 6 and a 6″ piece of tape would be dispensed and automatically cut to length and the adhesive wet. Great tape and fast.
mike at MDCGFA
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Use lighter fuel (or some petrol) to take the tape off. Might involve loosening an edge, and then washing the area underneath the tape with a brush while gradually peeling back. Works on paper.
Tape is bad news in the long term. The adhesive degrades into a brown stain, which is impossible to remove on fabric. Apparently it’s based on rubber.
Re framed pictures- it’s depressing to find that even “professional” framers are not above using sellotape or masking tape. I just yesterday bought a print from 1888 that had been framed using toilet paper to back the print, and sellotape to attach it to some not-acid-free cardboard. Had a sticker on the back giving the business details of the poltroon who’d framed it.
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Lighter Fluid [Benzine] is a great adhesive remover. Unlike Toulene, Lacquer Thinner, Acetone [nail polish remove], which all will attack the adhesive, Lighter Fluid will not attack and dissolve most inks that are printed on the packaging. Benzine also has a very high flash point, so apply it with a Q-Tip, rub and dissolve, then blow on it and it instantly flashes off and is dry.
Many times, if we pull a tag off of the outside or inside of a ceramic piece and adhesive gets left behind, we then will squirt a puddle of lighter fluid into the bottom or in the cavity of the piece, use a Q-tip to swirl it around and start loosening and dissolving the adhesive, then wipe it up.
The Goo-Gone and Goof Off products are all oily and not as highly refined and leave oily, smeary residue behind in themselves. If you use these products first, OK, but then squirt a little lighter fluid on a paper towel or swab and then wipe off the surface and you will get an oil, residue free, squaeky clean surface.
Mike at MDC Galleries and Fine Art
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Here they individually tag every item with a large non-removable barcode tag. On dishes, they place the tag directly over the identifying markings on the bottom every. Single. Time. Ughhh! So annoying!
Somebody back there in the back must have OCD and feels obligated to place the sticker in the center even though it is covering up the most important information.I’ve even asked them to stop doing that, but they keep doing it. If I find something I’m interested in you’re dang tootin’ that I’m gonna peel that label back. Half the dishes there have the tags partially peeled back.
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Hey RTWV if you do buy something with that tag on them, then this is where the lighter fluid comes in. Soak that paper label with lighter fluid, couple of drops is all that is needed. Let is soak into the paper. The porosity of the paper label allows the fuild to penetrate through the paper and start to attack the adhesive. Keep putting a drop or two on the label to keep it “wet”. Then start lifting the label at the corner. The secret is to pull the label up “slowly”. Even place a drop of fluid at the crease under the label as you pull it up. The label should peel right up cleanly with no residue left behind. Note.. SLOWLY Lift.
In my day we printed on a ton of plastics and many of the pieces were acrylic plexiglass. Plex is pre-masked on both sides with a paer protective layer at 100% surface coverage. We used gallons of Benzine to flood over the surface of the paper and then the side peeled up easily and nicely. We even had to do 4′ x 8′ full sheets of it for large signs. AND YES, our employees did wear respirators and we had fans blowing across the area. That much fluid poured out at once on a surface does off gas fumes. A small can of Lighter Fluid used drop by drop or small puddles offers no harm / risk to the uses no more than filling an old Zippo lighter.
Give it a try sometimes. We have several cans of lighter fluid sitting at our clean up – photography station right now. It is sold in most pharmacy’s and grocery stores up where the tobacco products are or the check out kiosks.
We use Ronson, one of the older companies but there are several brands. ALSO to note, lighter fluid does not attack, melt or blemish most plastic surfaces, but it would be advisable to check a small area first, but I can’t remember ever seeing any effect on any plastics I have tested.
Mike at MDCGFA
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Add to this discussion – I’ve had good luck with rubbing alcohol in getting sticky residue off. It takes a little more effort than Mike is describing with the lighter fluid but does the trick.
I bet I have some lighter fluid in the garage. I’ll go take a look later on today. -
I use a heat gun for stickers. It loosens up the adhesive and doesn’t damage the surface underneath unless it’s really sensitive plastic. Mine is made by Paper Studio I believe. You’ll want to get one designed for craft use/”embossing”. A real heat gun will straight-up melt anything it comes within a few feet of.
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Yep.. Have several heat guns in the art sturdio and you are spot on, without a heat control reostat [temp. control knob], it will melt down most plastics, even hair dryers will do that, or make the plastic start to bubble slightly.
In some cases, heat will make shiny surface plastics “blush” or “Fog”. The heat forces the plastic to out gas residuals within it’s molecular structure, especially polygermers and resins in PVC types of plastic, then that outgasing either burns or fogs the plastic surface. Now on ceramics, pottery and such, you are good to go.
mike at MDCGFA
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