Tapeing a kite sail!!

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[tommymcmillan]

I've just got done cutting the sail(alot difficult that I thought) ,and i've started tapeing it,is their an easy way togo about doing this. Because i've noticed that on the curved areas the tape doesn't want to co-operate w/me. Is their a seceret to doing curved areas..

[DWayne]

Use short pieces of tape. 

Denny

[inewham]

Don't stretch the tape as you apply it:
Its easy to pull the tape without meaning to as you put it on but it makes it difficult to get around corners if its already stretched. If you try to keep the tape pretty slack as you apply it then yo can pull one side a little stretching that side to help bend it around a corner.

I hope that makes sense - its something you can feel but its not so easy to describe.

[Will S]

I only tried to do a continuous piece of tape around a curve once. Never again. Someone with more skills than I might be able to pull it off, but I certainly can't 
Either use something like a gluestick to put a bit of adhesive on or use really short bits that aren't long enough to require conformance to the curve. Assuming you are just using the tape to tack the fabric for sewing, a gluestick works fine and is probably the least time intensive method.

[mikenchico]

Yep for curves you need a 3M tape gun, a bit pricey for a first build. You can use short pieces like Denny said, or a gluestick per Will's post works but it's not as permanent and may pull apart if you're stuffing the whole wing through the sewing machine on your first build, a bit of care and it works fine though as stated, some people use it exclusively and it washes out.

A third option I've seen, use contact cement, just brush a small amount on one side like you were using tape & let it dry to tacky then place the other side in place and burnish it down, a bit more permanent then gluestick for a first build. You may need to thin the glue since you don't want much thickness. Alternately you can use spray mount adhesive but you have to tape off the area and it's a bit messy.

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