Rachel wrote:Maine Sail,
This is interesting; could I ask a few questions?
Sure..
Rachel wrote:What brand/manufacturer is it that you sell? (I'm going to guess Tremco.)
Tremco's current tapes are denser than the stuff that builders used to use and tougher to compress under a fitting. Through many months and hundreds of phone calls I managed to track down a company that still made a product with similar qualities only not in what I needed. I do suspect they may extrude for Tremco but even they won't admit that, just like Tremco would not tell me who they were.. Considering all the work I put into this my manufacturer is confidential, for obvious reasons. My tape is sold to support my free "how to" web site after my wife said NO MORE personal money on that site.. So far I am still in the red.(ouch) The tape is good quality and folks can choose to buy it or not. I know some will always opt for price and that is to be expected.
Rachel wrote:What brands/manufacturers did you find to make quality product?
Tremco was good & tends to be very consistent but I found it quite dense and under large items could distort the fittings or deck if not installed patiently and correctly. The CR Laurence tape, can't remember who extrudes it, somewhat decent but better than most any of the RV tapes I tested. Problem with many of the glazing grade products is that the distributors only want to sell them in case lot quantities...
Rachel wrote:
How were you able to find out what "ingredients" were used in the various products?
I was in sales for over 24 years and learned how to ask questions that get the results I want. (wink) On a few occasions I simply pretended to be a PA from a large window manufacturer and wanted a product that "cost less" than our current manufacturer. Questions like; "How can we lower the cost and get similar performance?" Yada, yada yada... I can't even remember all the "fillers" mentioned but a virgin butyl tape that is very high in butyl content gets expensive and fillers reduce cost and also quality. No one was willing to give up actual filler brand names or percentages as that is all proprietary. hell, I am not even privileged to know what is in my tape, these extruders are very secretive. I do know it is a very high grade butyl. Better tapes have less "other ingredients" and more butyl and that is about how simple it is. High butyl content tapes cost more to manufacture than tapes with high filler content...
Rachel wrote:Do you have 1" x 1/8"?
No. I chose to stick with 1/2 X 1/16" thick as that is what I have found to be the most versatile size. 1/8" is far to thick for flat bottomed fittings and just right for ports that have a small lip. To accomodate a lip like on an extrided aluminum port simply doubling up the 1/16" works great.
To get other sizes would have been cost prohibitive and driven the price higher than it already is. I know my tape is not inexpensive but when you compare the shelf life to 4200, 5200 etc. the price gets quite reasonable. It does not mean that in the future I won't add other sizes but as of now there has been no clear winner in my excel spread sheet of "size requests". What my spread sheet tells me is that everyone wants a different size. Some folks have even asked for 8" wide....! No matter what I had it still would probably never be the "right" size. I have used this size many times on big surface area jobs and it works fine layered or placed side by side. It all becomes one big mass once you begin to tighten anyway..
Rachel wrote:I guess I got lucky with the tape I got from VTS. Interestingly, there were a few ancient-looking rolls I found (bagged) on a dusty shelf in the stockroom at work, and they were nearly indistinguishable from the new rolls I bought. But then I suppose they could both be inferior, as although I have used them both I have not made extensive experiments. I will say they were quite stretchy and elastic, and were not gooey or solventy. Not quite as "bouncy" as Silly Putty™ (which I hate to even mention here, as it contains silicone!) but sort of a cross between that and clay, in a good way. Hmm, hard to describe, really.
Rachel
You can get lucky, as you did, but you can also get burned, as I found out. The tape I sell is clearly more expensive, though you do get 50' vs. the 30' rolls often sold for RV's but it is a known quality. I know the tape on our 33 year old CS is still preventing leaks, over 80% of the boat is un-rebedded, and this is the closest product I could find that that.
Sorry for the late reply I did not see your post.
Funny story. A local yard saw my article and began selling a "butyl tape" they had some complaints and they then contacted me. We then compared them side by side, a little show and tell session, and they now order Bed-It tape when they need it. I don't have enough room for "wholesale pricing" so they pay the same price you guys do and I suspect they mark it up some on top of that. I do deliver it to them for free as a nice gesture.. (wink)...