How did 3M Masking Tape Come into Being?

Masking tape, a strange name, is closely related to everyone's daily life. Whether it's the car, high-speed rail, airplane, and other transportation tools you travel to, mobile phones, computers, tablets, and other electronic products, or all kinds of interior decoration and exterior wall decoration, this magic tape is indispensable.

The first masking tape in the world was born in 3M. But who knew that such an important tape was almost strangled in its infancy?

Today I want to tell you this little-known story.

It is not surprising that there are two or more colors on cars today. However, in the United States in the 1920s, two-color spray paint cars were still a new thing. Compared with the traditional black, the gorgeous appearance, flamboyant personality and unique style of two-color cars have gradually become the new fashion trend of Roaring Twenties (the prosperous 1920s) American cars.

But how to achieve the color separation effect of these different colors?

At that time, it was mainly done by workers in car factories using paste and newspapers, but there were many problems in the actual process. If the paste is too little, the newspaper will fall off immediately. If the paste is too much, it is not easy to dry. Sometimes, the painted paint will be damaged, and the paint will easily form a zigzag boundary through the newspaper, affecting the overall painting effect.

Richard Gurley Drew was an engineer of 3M at that time who tested the quality of WETORDRY abrasive paper. One day he went to a car beauty shop in Sao Paulo for a routine visit. He saw that the workers were worried about how to use plastic tape for two-color paint spraying. An idea flashed through Dick Drew's mind. Why can't he develop a special adhesive tape for car paint masking to provide customers with a perfect solution?

He realized that shielding products were urgently needed in the automotive industry, and he promised to manufacture better adhesive tape products because he sympathized with the paint-spraying workers. Although he knows a lot about abrasive materials, he is completely layman about the adhesive tape. What's more, he has not received a formal technical education, and 3M has not tried to manufacture adhesive tape. Therefore, developing this product will face great difficulties. Although he did not know how to develop it, he was very optimistic.

The adhesive tape required for automobile painting must have the following characteristics: strong adhesion, good color separation, and boundary effect, which can be easily removed without damaging the paint and will not leave adhesive residue. Richard began his laboratory research. First, he applied the adhesive to ordinary packaging paper. Although the tape could be easily pasted and peeled off, it did not meet the requirements because it damaged the paint. Richard made a lot of useful tapes, but he failed in the end. Because he didn't have any basic knowledge, information, or technology to refer to in his mind, he had to fight alone.

After constant attempts, Richard finally successfully issued a masking tape in 1922 with moderate viscosity, easy operation, and easy stripping – Scott WERDRY Nondrying Lacquer Tape, which is also the first masking tape in the world.