# Duct tape **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 28, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638 "2013-01-28T18:51:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/1 "2013-01-28T18:51:50Z")
Call it ‘duct tape’, or call it ‘duck tape’ – but don’t call it ‘gaffer’s tape’ – it has all kinds of uses. I’m sure we all remember the [bush pilot who repaired his plane with duct tape after a bear destroyed it](http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10434561-1.html). And didn’t _Mythbusters_ make a sailboat out of it once? Here’s another thing you can do with it: The battery in my Prius’s smart key was getting weak. How do you change the battery? First remove the physical key. Then hold the latch open and slide off the cover. Then unscrew the battery hatch, replace the battery, and reverse the procedure. Only the fob back would not slide off. The finger ridge is smooth, and not shaped properly for removing a cover that has ridden in pockets for the past four or five years. The cover is smooth, so there’s not enough friction for my thumb to push it open. Solution? Duct tape. Apply a strip of tape to the cover, hold open the latch, and _pull_ the cover off. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/2 "2013-01-28T18:53:43Z")
I need to replace mine too. What battery does it take? Mines a 2010. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/3 "2013-01-28T18:56:01Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I need to replace mine too. What battery does it take? Mines a 2010. CR2032 for my 2005. ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/4 "2013-01-28T19:36:07Z")
NPR recently did a story on a duct tape study. The study concluded that duct tape was good for everything except taping ducts. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/5 "2013-01-28T19:40:40Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > NPR recently did a story on a duct tape study. The study concluded that duct tape was good for everything except taping ducts. It’s been mentioned in recent threads that duct tape is actually illegal - that is, non-code - for sealing ducts. It hardens, falls off and results in separated ducts or leakage within a few years. Real duct sealing tape is made from aluminum, with a 3M adhesive that will stick an M-1A tank to a teflon wall. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/6 "2013-01-28T20:18:32Z")
Unless you need it waterproof, I find gaff tape to be superior in every way. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/7 "2013-01-28T21:22:20Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Unless you need it waterproof, I find gaff tape to be superior in every way. Except for the fact that [gaffer’s tape is four times as expensive](http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Grade-Yard-Gaffers-Tape/dp/B000QDRRIE) as [regular gray duct tape.](http://www.amazon.com/Intertape-5038-3-PK-1-87-Inches-60-Yards/dp/B002KQ6682/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1359407852&sr=8-3&keywords=duct+tape) Hey, if someone else is buying it, I’ll use expensive gaffer’s tape, but if I’m buying it, I’ll tape my cables to the floor with bog-standard silver duct tape, four rolls for $10.99 from CostCo. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/8 "2013-01-28T22:44:32Z")
[Duck tape](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=s&hl=en&q=duck%20tape&aq=&aqi=&aql=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Av0GUYCMBoXA0QHbkYGQBQ&biw=1024&bih=614&sei=-_4GUfSANIiK0QGnmYHYCA#imgrc=D_Cw5xzN97RVbM%3A%3BP5M8YBW6C6sc4M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fduckbrand.com%252F~%252Fmedia%252FDuck%252520Product%252520Catalog%252FDuck%252520Tapes%252FColor%252520Duck%252520Tape%252Fchrome-duct-tape.ashx%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fduckbrand.com%252FProducts%252Fduck-tape%252Fcolor-duck-tape.aspx%253FIDH%253D888789%3B600%3B600) ---
**Author:** ![\_Olive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/4af34b/32.png) [@\_Olive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_Olive)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/9 "2013-01-29T08:46:58Z")
I just covered up a rust spot on my truck with duct tape. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/10 "2013-01-29T10:02:55Z")
and of course it comes in fancy designer colors! ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/11 "2013-01-29T22:36:34Z")
I’ve driven over 100 miles home with a burst radiator hose repaired with duct tape. I keep a roll in every vegicle and toolbox I own! ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/12 "2013-01-29T23:47:06Z")
I have a silver car that’s kinda creaking along. (It runs well, but it’s NOT pretty.) Someone must’ve bumped me in a parking lot and the front bumper started to begin to detach. Before the Fella got a chance to fix it (and he did) I silver duct taped it on. I carried a pair of scissors and a roll in the car b/c it was the summer and it kept melting off. It was a good stopgap measure—and it matched! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/13 "2013-01-30T02:11:47Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Unless you need it waterproof, I find gaff tape to be superior in every way. What exactly is different about the two? I’ve almost always used gaffer’s tape (no photographer should be without some), but recently I ran out and was somewhere where I couldn’t find anything, so picked up some duct/duck tape. The main differences I see is that duct tape is a good bit thinner and glossy, as opposed to gaffer’s flat finish and heftier composition. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/14 "2013-01-30T02:48:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What exactly is different about the two? I’ve almost always used gaffer’s tape (no photographer should be without some), but recently I ran out and was somewhere where I couldn’t find anything, so picked up some duct/duck tape. The main differences I see is that duct tape is a good bit thinner and glossy, as opposed to gaffer’s flat finish and heftier composition. Hey, if I need a matte cloth tape to cover up shiny bits of my set, gaffer’s tape all the way. But if I just need to tape cables to the floor to keep people from tripping over them, gaffer’s tape is stupid expensive. In theory, the adhesive on gaffer’s tape is less likely to transfer to surfaces, but I have not had any problem with the gray Nashua “Industrial Grade Duct Tape” that I just bought from CostCo yesterday. It cost me $5.99 for two 60 yard rolls. And seriously, I’m taping cables to the floor in bars, and the adhesive of my duct tape is the _kindest_ thing to happen to those floors all week. ---
**Author:** ![bahimes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bahimes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahimes)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/15 "2013-01-30T14:35:08Z")
Duck/duct tape is fine all around, but when we have a special visitor, I have to set up some electreonics in very high class hotels and other venues, so the gaffer’s tape is what we use on those ocassions, as the adhesive doesn’t lift off the gilt, or lacquer or fancy flocking. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/16 "2013-01-30T15:38:59Z")
I knew a girl in high school who made a pair of flipflops almost entirely out of duct tape. She started with a thin (think cereal box) cardboard cutout of each foot and built up enough layers of duct tape to make them a bit over half an inch thick. I just got a [mini-roll of duct tape](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H87UGS/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00) for one of the pockets of my [awesome utility vest](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678347&highlight=utility+belt+vest) and have been looking for things to tape ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/17 "2013-01-30T19:32:07Z")
> [@bahimes](#): > > gaffer’s tape is what we use on those ocassions, as the adhesive doesn’t lift off the gilt, or lacquer or fancy flocking. Although it _did_ pull the paint off the door sill of my car, when I stuck a strip there when I was taping camera magazines. Might have been a Maaco paint job. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/18 "2013-01-30T20:04:00Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > and of course it comes in fancy designer colors! At our local hardware store, I saw some rolls in a tie-dye/psychedelic scheme. If you look at the free books offered through Apple’s iBooks app, one of them is _Practical Duct Tape Projects_. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2013, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/duct-tape/648638/19 "2013-01-30T21:14:28Z")
> [@For You](#): > > At our local hardware store, I saw some rolls in a tie-dye/psychedelic scheme. > > If you look at the free books offered through Apple’s iBooks app, one of them is _Practical Duct Tape Projects_. Le me know when they come out with _Wildly Impractical Duct Tape Projects_!