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I hate electrical tape. It becomes sticky after some time, when it starts to smear because it got moved or stopped sticking to the surface. I bought a set of n

I hate electrical tape. It becomes sticky after some time, when it starts to smear because it got moved or stopped sticking to the surface. I bought a set of nail polish and use the black one to paint over the LEDs, it even allows you to control how much you want to cover it, in case you still want to have a bit of light to see if it's on or off. Other colors can be used to mark pins on breakout boards or cables. It's really useful to have around.

bboygravity 3y ago
Copper foil tape works well too.
photonbeam 3y ago
I use blu-tack putty, it’s opaque, easy to apply/remove. Its not flat though
Eisenstein 3y ago
Oil based paint sharpies are an alternative and useful for writing things with as well.
MrBuddyCasino 3y ago
> I hate electrical tape. Same. I’ve used aluminum tape to block LEDs, works great.
- dtgriscom 3y ago
  Oh, yeah. Aluminum foil tape is an all-purpose wonder. It's often used for air ducts, although it isn't what you think of when you say "duct tape."
  - atahanacar 3y ago
    Duct tape is/was actually duck tape. Duck is the name of a fabric.
yugioh3 3y ago
black gaffer’s tape is perfect for covering LEDs long term without any residue.
- notatoad 3y ago
  maybe i just bought cheap tape, but i've definitely found gaffers tape to leave a residue if left in place for a couple years. especially on electronics that are generating some heat.
  - Cerium 3y ago
    The good stuff is like 20 or 30 bucks for a roll. I just pulled off a piece that was stuck to glass for 4 years and it came off residue free.
  - OkGoDoIt 3y ago
    There’s some really crappy offbrand gaffer tape on Amazon these days. The “pro gaff“ brand which costs around $30 a roll is the good stuff I recommend. (Source: I run a theater and pay hundreds of dollars a year for gaff tape. I have tried a wide variety of brands and price points.)
- theamk 3y ago
  I would be worried about that.. had some gaffer's tape in my car's interiors, left horrible residue after a year or so.
TylerE 3y ago
The really nice thing about electrical tape is that has an extremely high ignition tempature, and strong voltage resistance, so can throw it on stuff that gets hot (in either sense) and not worry about it. I use it to block off the annoying LED "backlighting" on my PS5... that gets warm enough that I'd be nervous about some tapes. Also handy for actual electrical stuff, like that one speaker wire that loves to comeout of the terminal on my stereo if I look at it funny. I've had some strips of it for years and have never had problems with "smearing" or adhesion.
- worthless-trash 3y ago
  I've had some success with kapton tape, it drops the 'bright blue' down to a dull orange. Not perfect but its adhesive and knocks the brightness of the led down.
  - TylerE 3y ago
    The stuff I use (3M) is opaque to anything you’d reasonably think of doing this to.
    - worthless-trash 3y ago
      Got a name? i'm always looking for a cheaper/better options.
mmis1000 3y ago
I use sticker note tape for these. There are colord variant of it, which comes blue/red/green/yellow. They are tapes, so you can decide how long it is required, while being easily removable without leftover because it is sticker note. Something like these: https://images.app.goo.gl/aCK31v9x8Ea2uE7P6 https://images.app.goo.gl/aCK31v9x8Ea2uE7P6
- Terr_ 3y ago
  Those tapes (which I sometimes describe as just the sticky part of a sticky note) are also great for labeling when you want something that takes ink/pencil more nicely than masking tape.
jahewson 3y ago
Gotta buy better electrical tape. Scotch Super 33+ is amazing.
- ethbr1 3y ago
  Tape is really backing (whatever) + glue. The glue can vary a lot in quality and properties. F.ex. Patched a hole in a Miata top with some duct tape = gone in 2 weeks in high summer heat. Used some "high strength" heat-tolerant duct tape = still there, 3 years of summer and winter later. The latter was ~$5 more expensive.
dilawar 3y ago
Blue Tac?
- qwertox 3y ago
  Seems to be similar to UHU patafix which I also do use to cover LEDs on devices like ESP32 boards. https://www.uhu.com/en/product-page/patafix-white/35211 https://www.uhu.com/en/product-page/patafix-white/35211
OJFord 3y ago
I'm not intending to suggest there aren't better solutions than periodically taping & cleaning, but a can of adhesive cleaner stuff will make short work of that mess, worth having. (The one I use - mainly for barcode etc. stickers with shitty adhesive that doesn't peel off nicely - is by 'Pro Power' which I think is CPC's house brand, so that's not helpful if you're outside the UK.)
- bb88 3y ago
  I use MG chemicals safety wash in the US -- particularly formulated to be safe on plastics and electronics.

bboygravity 3y ago

Copper foil tape works well too.

photonbeam 3y ago

I use blu-tack putty, it’s opaque, easy to apply/remove. Its not flat though

Eisenstein 3y ago

Oil based paint sharpies are an alternative and useful for writing things with as well.

MrBuddyCasino 3y ago

> I hate electrical tape. Same. I’ve used aluminum tape to block LEDs, works great.

dtgriscom 3y ago
Oh, yeah. Aluminum foil tape is an all-purpose wonder. It's often used for air ducts, although it isn't what you think of when you say "duct tape."
- atahanacar 3y ago
  Duct tape is/was actually duck tape. Duck is the name of a fabric.

yugioh3 3y ago

black gaffer’s tape is perfect for covering LEDs long term without any residue.

notatoad 3y ago
maybe i just bought cheap tape, but i've definitely found gaffers tape to leave a residue if left in place for a couple years. especially on electronics that are generating some heat.
- Cerium 3y ago
  The good stuff is like 20 or 30 bucks for a roll. I just pulled off a piece that was stuck to glass for 4 years and it came off residue free.
- OkGoDoIt 3y ago
  There’s some really crappy offbrand gaffer tape on Amazon these days. The “pro gaff“ brand which costs around $30 a roll is the good stuff I recommend. (Source: I run a theater and pay hundreds of dollars a year for gaff tape. I have tried a wide variety of brands and price points.)
theamk 3y ago
I would be worried about that.. had some gaffer's tape in my car's interiors, left horrible residue after a year or so.

TylerE 3y ago

The really nice thing about electrical tape is that has an extremely high ignition tempature, and strong voltage resistance, so can throw it on stuff that gets hot (in either sense) and not worry about it. I use it to block off the annoying LED "backlighting" on my PS5... that gets warm enough that I'd be nervous about some tapes. Also handy for actual electrical stuff, like that one speaker wire that loves to comeout of the terminal on my stereo if I look at it funny. I've had some strips of it for years and have never had problems with "smearing" or adhesion.

worthless-trash 3y ago
I've had some success with kapton tape, it drops the 'bright blue' down to a dull orange. Not perfect but its adhesive and knocks the brightness of the led down.
- TylerE 3y ago
  The stuff I use (3M) is opaque to anything you’d reasonably think of doing this to.
  - worthless-trash 3y ago
    Got a name? i'm always looking for a cheaper/better options.

mmis1000 3y ago

I use sticker note tape for these. There are colord variant of it, which comes blue/red/green/yellow. They are tapes, so you can decide how long it is required, while being easily removable without leftover because it is sticker note. Something like these: https://images.app.goo.gl/aCK31v9x8Ea2uE7P6 https://images.app.goo.gl/aCK31v9x8Ea2uE7P6

Terr_ 3y ago
Those tapes (which I sometimes describe as just the sticky part of a sticky note) are also great for labeling when you want something that takes ink/pencil more nicely than masking tape.

jahewson 3y ago

Gotta buy better electrical tape. Scotch Super 33+ is amazing.

ethbr1 3y ago
Tape is really backing (whatever) + glue. The glue can vary a lot in quality and properties. F.ex. Patched a hole in a Miata top with some duct tape = gone in 2 weeks in high summer heat. Used some "high strength" heat-tolerant duct tape = still there, 3 years of summer and winter later. The latter was ~$5 more expensive.

dilawar 3y ago

Blue Tac?

qwertox 3y ago
Seems to be similar to UHU patafix which I also do use to cover LEDs on devices like ESP32 boards. https://www.uhu.com/en/product-page/patafix-white/35211 https://www.uhu.com/en/product-page/patafix-white/35211

OJFord 3y ago

I'm not intending to suggest there aren't better solutions than periodically taping & cleaning, but a can of adhesive cleaner stuff will make short work of that mess, worth having. (The one I use - mainly for barcode etc. stickers with shitty adhesive that doesn't peel off nicely - is by 'Pro Power' which I think is CPC's house brand, so that's not helpful if you're outside the UK.)

bb88 3y ago
I use MG chemicals safety wash in the US -- particularly formulated to be safe on plastics and electronics.