I recently came across this thick heavy-duty clear double-sided tape at a Japanese variety store, sold as “Crocodile Grip” tape. (LINK). It was only $2, so I figured it was worth a shot. This is like poster tack on steroids. Instead of having a mounting job in mind, the “grip” part of the name got me thinking… could this provide necessary grip to remove a stubborn metal bezel on a flashlight? This is an extension of what I’d done before, trying to disassemble the head of a flashlight that had Loctite used on the threads. I’d taken heavy-duty duct tape, attached and folded over so it was stuck on but also had a stick surface facing outward for gripping. That did the trick. But an inner bezel wasn’t suitable (limitations of the duct tape pliability while maintaining high stick).
I used a multi-inch segment of this double-sided tape and it gave me enough grip for sufficient torque to break the adhesion of the stuck bezel.
Amazon Japan has this “Crocodile Grip” tape listed, but can’t get it shipped to the USA without a proxy (adding costs). I’d not seen it in hardware stores or at Target / Staples / Office Max. I found it as DAISO, a Japanese store.
There are a number of brands/versions. Been using it for some applications for a couple years now. The stuff is pretty tacky and strong. The longer it’s on, the more ‘stuck’ it seems to become. It doesn’t seem to do quite as well with shear as direct pull.
If you can get it off it can be ‘refreshed’ by simply washing it and letting it dry. It’s not quite as good after.
Yeah, those “wash and reuse” claims I always take with a grain of salt. And if you’re going to use it as a grip helper, not likely going to be useful afterward. Anyway, I was pretty impressed with how strong it can be. Should be useful to removing a lot of bezels that are just not budging using a swatch of rubber.
In the past I have used 3M VHB tape to adhere things on an essentially permanent basis. I have a fairly heavy wall wart (power adapter) adhered to the bottom of a standing desk with the stuff.
