With a low fabric count, a thin polyethylene film, and a low weight adhesive, general-purpose tapes work well enough for odd jobs where long service life isn’t necessary. As a result, manufacturers now offer a wide range of grades of polyethylene/fabric types and in a wide variety of colors. Many new versions were manufactured – each with different qualities of fabric, polyethylene, and adhesive – for many different end-uses. Of the 18 myths they tested, only one was busted (turns out you can’t use duct tape to barricade a car driving at 60 mph).ħ Types of Duct Tape - Are You Using the Right One?ĭuct tape’s initial design was simple but effective: a strong fabric bonded to polyethylene film for sealing/waterproofing, silver-gray coloring to match metal ductwork, and a thick coating of adhesive to seal the joints and make them airtight.īut people quickly determined that this specialty tape could be used for a variety of other purposes, and the boom was on. The team was able to successfully use duct tape to patch a damaged airplane fuselage, construct a functioning cannon, build a usable bridge, and lift a 5000-pound car. Mythbusters has devoted three entire episodes to exploring some of duct tape’s most extreme applications. ![]() ![]() Using duct tape on actual ductwork is now considered a code violation in many buildings. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted tests in 1998 to see how well different types of tape performed at sealing ducts, and, compared to the other products, duct tape was the clear loser. Interestingly, its namesake usage (“duct”) is one of the few things that duct tape isn’t recommended for. Those adhesives require the evaporation of a solvent to create a chemical bond. This is not the same as the mechanics of structural adhesives like, say, Elmer’s glue. The strength of the bond is due to the fact that the adhesive is hard enough and its viscoelastic properties are powerful enough to resist flow when stressed. PSAs are soft polymer blends that exploit van der Waals forces to join two objects together. People were using it to hold metal air ducts together, so the company rebranded the product as “duct tape” and updated it with a matching silver color made from powdered aluminum.ĭuct tape relies on what’s known as a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) for its inherent stickiness. Johnson & Johnson adapted surgical adhesive tapes to Stoudt’s specifications, and soldiers nicknamed the material “duck tape” in reference to its ability to repel moisture “like water off a duck’s back.” (They also dubbed it 100-mph tape because it could hold together a speeding jeep!)įollowing World War II, duct tape began to catch on in the U.S. ![]() ![]() Worried the cases were too hard to open on the battlefield, Stoudt proposed a fix: Use waterproof cloth tape instead. In 1943, Vesta Stoudt had a job in a munitions factory where ammo cases were sealed with paper tape and melted wax. The 7 Types of Duct Tape (And How to Choose the Right One).This complete technical guide will cover everything you would ever want to know, including: It’s one of the most popular adhesives because of its versatility, but there are many misconceptions about the toolbox superhero called duct tape.
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