gel tape

JahJahwarrior

Active Member
so i've been wondering recently, sometimes I see gels that are two colors, like a primary red and a primary green on a par, ,half of each. Now, I know that they are just normal gels, cut in half and taped together. I also konw that people say to use gel tape, and i have heard references to gelt ape sevearl places. But, a google search never turns up anything! Neither are there aything on rosco, gam websites, or retail places like sld lighting. Where can I get gel tape from? I am interested in useing two different gels together! I could just place them both in the frame, but i want to make sure they stay together well and don't slip apart leaving a white crack in the middle ;) thanks!
 
i just use scotch tape. the really small, really bad scotch tape thats like...super clear. works perfectly.
 
i would be worried about melting the tape if its not rated for heat, i would think scotch would melt really easily.
 
it doesnt though. i made a fire gel type thing with it, put it almost directly on four 500 watt units, and it didnt melt.
 
In both the schools, and professional theatres i've worked in, they used scotch tape. I've never seen anything else.
 
be sure to use the clear scotch tpe though.... the cheep stuff that is clear and is a pain in the butt to work with.... the other stuff will melt and ruin your gels...
 
i looked though the Apollo catalog. i found Gel-Tak Tape, which seems to pretty much be scotch tape. this is probably what theyre talking about. its $11.95 though so i would just use scotch tape.
 
J-Lar clear tape is indeed what is most used for taping two gels together in being a Permiacel www.protapes.com #910 product of clear tape that is rated for a higher temperature than normal clear tape. That said, scotch tape, clear packaging tape and many others do work - they probably are just not rated for as much in temperature as the J-Lar high temperature tape that's primary use is for taping together gel strings on a scroller.

This said, there are other clear high temperature clear packaging type tapes on the market. I'm currently using #F-M815-1x72-c if it means anything to anyone. Believe it's from Spectape/Suretape as a alternative brand and it no doubt like J-Lar is a 1" Clear Polyester Silicone based splicing tape. That's the primary difference between celephane or poly tape and high temperature J-Lar. Yes the other stuff works, but it depends upon the temperature. On a S-4 possibly, on a PAR can of 1Kw, much less a Mole Light, it might not.
 
I'm thiing about splicing a green and red gel on a par 64, 500 watts. It's on for about two hours at a time. If it makes a difference, the par is aiming straight up. (it's on the ground inside a truss/column thing, shooting up to illuminate the truss. )
 
Whenever we needed to tape our scroller tracks together we just used the super clear scotch tape.
they have been up in pars for about 3 years now and there is no sign of melting when we do maintenence.
but just keep an eye on it! :roll:

and last year the LD spliced some gels together and he used double sided scotch tape and they were completely fine.
 
If the fixture is pointing streight up, I dont really see much of a chance for the gels to slide arround out of place anyway, so even if the tape melted, it would seem to me that nothing would go too too far. (maybe just make sure that the edges of the gel are pinched tightly by the frame so they wouldnt droop)
 
also you dont know what fumes would be released and you would feel really dumb if the show had to be stopped while the fire dept came to discover that the tape on your gel had melted.
 
so i've been wondering recently, sometimes I see gels that are two colors, like a primary red and a primary green on a par, ,half of each. Now, I know that they are just normal gels, cut in half and taped together. I also konw that people say to use gel tape, and i have heard references to gelt ape sevearl places. But, a google search never turns up anything! Neither are there aything on rosco, gam websites, or retail places like sld lighting. Where can I get gel tape from? I am interested in useing two different gels together! I could just place them both in the frame, but i want to make sure they stay together well and don't slip apart leaving a white crack in the middle ;) thanks!
I just found this! Best in state price and shipping for OK. http://www.norcostco.com/jlar-gel-repair-tape.aspx
 
Wow! This post has risen from the long dead.
 

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