Paint Protection Film

For cars on the road or track, TrakkTape 5 mil thick protective film is easy to apply AND remove, plus won't damage your paints finish. It's perfect for long road trips, new car transport, the occasional track day, or even just to make cleanup easier on your car's clear bra.

Why TrakkTape™?

We never thought I would be putting "The Original" in our title block. But, now there are lots of imitators out there. TrakkTape™ has been around since 2007. When our founder's Lotus Elise started getting both rock chips in his paint and, worse, cuts in his clear bra, he saw the need for an affordable solution for a great track tape. TrakkTape™ is formulated especially for use as a temporary protective film for HPDE (High Performance Driving Experience) days. The adhesive is intended to be sticky enough to stay in place, but not so sticky that it is hard to remove. We now have feedback from thousands of customers, so we have a pretty darned good idea how our product will perform on your car. Why take a chance on an unknown?

The poly based tape itself is 5 mil thick, as opposed to 8 mil for a typical clear bra. 

TrakkTape™ is a Southern California based company, but ships worldwide. We are proud to say we have customers all over the world and now have direct distribution in the United Kingdom and the European Union. For other international orders contact us here in the US. 

Our founder continues to use TrakkTape™ personally on a regular basis and the installation instructions reflect his personal experience with the BEST track tape. 


Customer Reviews

Kurt S. Corvette ZR1
"TrakkTape™ did a great job of protecting my Corvette, even at over 170 mph! At those speeds, I could have had some bad dings, but TrakkTape™ worked great. Later, all the bugs and collected debris just peeled off easily with the tape."


 
Chris, McLaren 650S

"I just wanted to let you know that I finally took my McLaren 650S to the track this weekend and I wrapped it with your product – frankly I do not know if I was hit by any rocks because I outran the other cars most of the time – if any rock hit me, it did not leave any scratch.
What I can tell, for sure, (and of course you know it already) is that it was very easy to install the film and remove it. It came out really easily and left the car clean. I will not go to the track ever again without wrapping the car with your film."

Kelvin D. Lotus Exige

"Thanks, David. It's good stuff! I was most impressed by how invisible it is for track photos, and it sure beats trying to make 2-3 layers of painter's tape look presentable. I imagine that it'll be even harder to spot now that my new car is silver."


Ben L.,         Mazda Miata with custom bodywork 
"You can't even tell that I have the tape in the front and rear bumpers also along the wheel wells! I did not apply neatly at all also haha! Great product!"



Egan

"Hey David,
I thought you'd like to see my best trakk-tapeing so far. :) Thanks for continuing to make a great product."


Josh A. Alfa 4C
"I ordered my first roll from your first batch when you launched it on LotusTalk years ago. I finally used the last of it to protect the front end of my new Alfa 4C when I picked it up to trailer home.

It has become a staple in my garage. Great for protecting cars on the move, but I use it even more for taping off the fenders or parts of the bodywork that I'll be working over to access the engine bay. Also good for protecting the chassis for the seat rails when removing the seats, etc. 

The Alfa has terribly soft paint and limited access, so it's going to be even more important there. I've mentioned it on 4C-Forums.com already as the soft paint is a big concern for many. It doesn't look like they have a sponsorship policy there yet, so it might be worth it for you to post there."
  --Josh A.

 

Darcy W. Honda S2000

"I was always irritated by cone smudges and scrapes on my bumper not to mention wherever else. While they may be battle scars and not out of place on my older Honda Civic Si, they were entirely bothersome on my newly acquired Honda S2000. TrakkTape™ is easy to apply, stays adhered at more than highway speeds, and in fact, stay applied for several weeks with no adverse issues. It never caused any problems on my recently repainted front bumper, either. The larger roll is good value, especially when shared amongst a group of friends. I've even gotten to applying the product prior to road trips just to protect from stone chips. Keep your painters tape at home and add TrakkTape™ to your race supplies." 


 

Installation Instructions and Tips

First, be certain the car is clean and FRESHLY WAXED. TrakkTape has lots of grip, but don’t try to apply it immediately after washing the car, as water around moldings, gaps, etc. can cause vapor under the tape on a warm day.  Normally, just a light wipe off with a damp towel is fine.

ALTHOUGH WE HAVE HAVE VERY VERY FEW ISSUES OVER THE YEARS WITH THE USE OF TRAKKTAPE, WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND A NICE COAT OF PASTE WAX BEFORE APPLYING TRAKKTAPE WHICH TILL GIVE AN EXTRA LEVEL OF PROTECTION. OLDER SINGLE STAGE PAINT JOBS WILL PARTICULARLY BENEFIT FROM THIS.

PLEASE DO NOT USE TRAKKTAPE ON ANY MATTE FINISH!!! WE DO NOT RECOMMEND IT. 

It is ESSENTIAL that you work from the back and go forward of the area to be protected. Using the felt side of the squeegee, work from side to side, pressing out the bubbles as you go. The next strip should overlap the previous one slightly to protect the leading edge from airflow. In our experience, don’t spray the area with anything.  Just install it dry.

Put some extra pressure on any leading edge. You will be surprised how the wind can start to nibble at those small edges. And don’t try to stretch it much. You can overpower the adhesive by doing this.

Here is a helpful short video showing the actual installation technique. 
   

Don't work from the roll when applying the tape. Cut off the approximate length you need before starting to apply it. Often you can stick one end down temporarily to the car, as you go across to see how much you need. We find a sharp knife like an Xacto is better than scissors.

When using the applicator, use the felt side and push toward the direction that you are laying the tape. Try running straight down the center of the tape with the first pass. Then go back and smooth down the edges. Sometimes, depending on the contour, that helps control bubbles.


The PERFECT tool for installing TrakkTape. You get one FREE when you order here!

When working around headlight surrounds, trim, etc, you may want to trim the tape carefully with an Xacto or similar blade and then cover the headlight or trim separately. This is all dependent on how concerned you are with a more finished installation. 

If you are working around a grill or similar opening, you will generally get the nicest finish by cutting 6 to 12” long (x 6") strips and using them vertically wrapping down and into the grill opening. A bit faster, but not quite as tidy method, is to run a strip horizontally the full width of the grill, sticking it first to the flattest forward facing section that will accept the tape smoothly. Then, you can cut vertically into the remaining tape to allow you to stick it down in pieces that compensate for the curves.

Don't forget to check to see if you need to do more than just the front of the car. The Lotus Elise on the home page is particularly vulnerable in the area in front of the rear wheels. The fronts of mirrors are another area that is often forgotten. 

Areas that are very flat to the front of the car might benefit from an additional layer of protection. These leading edges will take the full force of any incoming rock or object, whereas the sloping areas receive a glancing blow with substantially less force for damage. FYI, the tape is 5 mil thick. Most “clear bras” are 8 mil.

On the Lotus shown on the Home page and many other cars, the area in front of the rear wheel wells really takes a beating. This is one area that really needs extra protection. We normally run 3-4 layers there. If you stick a wheel off the edge of the track, it’s like a shotgun blast to those rear flares, so lay down a little extra tape.

If you tape over your headlights and then turn on the lights, check to see that the tape is not overheating. It should be fine, but you never know. The Lotus Elise used for much of our R&D has daytime running lights so they are on all day on the track with no issues. I can also see well enough at night with the tape in place to make it to the track. 

IF YOU HAVE NON-GLASS HEADLIGHTS, PLEASE READ THE NOTES IN RED BELOW!

If you are really fussy about the small bubbles that occur at times, they can be lightly tapped with a sharp Xacto blade or needle and then pressed out. The sort of job shown on our web site is virtually invisible to a trackside photographer!

For the quick and dirty approach, you can either work back to front in strips that are running lengthwise on the car, or do bands crossways on the car. If you do crossways bands, again start in the back to protect the leading edges from lifting. Be sure and really press down any leading edges tightly.

In this method, just press down around headlights, turn indicators and then keep going. You can go right across grill and other openings, then just cut them out and fold the remaining tape back into the opening. It doesn't look great, but works fine and is still better than blue tape! This is more for throwing on quick protection for a quick track day.

At the end of the day, just peel off TrakkTape (and rubber marks) and throw it away. It's much when it is still warm from the sun. If it is a warm day, you can probably peel off several strips at once. On a colder day, it might be better to take them off one at a time. PEEL THE TAPE OFF SLOWLY BACK ON ITSELF AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE. If you are seeing some residue, which is very rare, try a 180 degree angle. If it is at the end of a cold day, it is easier to let the car sit in the sun a bit the next morning and then pull the tape off. 

After using TrakkTape personally for many years with no residue issues, I recently used it on a cool and very rainy couple of days. When I pulled it off, there was residue I have never seen before. I could remove it with rubbing alcohol, but now would suggest that TrakkTape not be used in wet conditions. I never had trouble in the cold alone. Also, I recently did a long weekend with quite a bit of rain, but the weather was warmer and again, no problems. So it just seems to be the combination of extreme rain and cold that caused the residue issue. SEE THE FAQ'S IF YOU HAVE RESIDUE. 

Other uses for TrakkTape: it’s great to put down temporary fender protection when working on your car. A couple of layers gives extra cushioning.