7 Types of Duct Tape

1. General Purpose
With a low fabric count, a thin polyethylene film, and a low-weight adhesive, general-purpose tapes work well enough for odd jobs where long service life isn’t necessary.

2. Industrial Grade
With industrial-grade tapes, the fabric and polyethylene are upgraded, so the tape becomes more of a “workhorse” with added adhesive coating weight. One popular variation is a multi-colored industrial tape that is used for seaming and holding carpets at exhibitions, where the adhesive must be removed cleanly.

3. Professional Grade
Sometimes called “contractors’ grade” these tapes offer more of an upgrade to the components of the industrial-grade tape for added strength, adhesion, and durability.

4. Gaffer’s Tape
Typically, gaffer’s tape is a matte black for minimal light reflection and is used in movies, television, and photo studios to temporarily tape cables to the floor or light fixtures to vertical posts. This type of tape needs to be able to be easily torn by hand and removed cleanly.

5. Stucco Tape
Stucco tape is used to attach protective polyethylene film over doors and windows during house construction prior to spraying the outside walls with stucco. Designed to be used outdoors for several days at a time, stucco duct tape must be able to resist the ultraviolet of the sun’s rays during that time – and not come apart from the vinyl window frames.

6. True Duct Tape
This one lives up to its name – duct tape is truly intended for sealing air ducts. Duct tape must be permanent and able to withstand prolonged heat and air pressure for the lifetime of the duct. It may even need to be flame retardant to meet some building codes. Duct tape is the true top-of-the-line, a high-tensile, hardworking tape.

7. Coated Cloth Tape
A roll of coated cloth tape has gone with every U.S. manned space launch, and is also commonly known as “Mission Tape.” This tape played an essential role in the construction of the carbon dioxide absorbers which saved the lives of the three astronauts in the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission.

With such a wide variety to choose from, start by considering exactly what you expect your tape to do. Then, evaluate the right polyethylene/fabric backing judged by tensile strength, as well as the right adhesive coating thickness, judged by adhesion level, for the best performance with the lowest cost.