In December 2024, right in time for the holidays, we published a story looking at the world of trouble you can step into by wrapping your car in Christmas lights. Not only is this increasingly popular trend illegal in many states, but turning your ride into a rolling Christmas tree can easily mar the paint. With the holidays behind us, disgruntled owners are finding out that tape residue tends to linger like a bad hangover after the lights come off.
It only takes a few seconds of scrolling to find a video of someone who ostensibly owns a high-dollar, high-horsepower car complaining about paint damage. Ram TRX? Check. Chevrolet Corvette? Yup. BMW M4? You bet. And the list goes on. Some videos were posted by users in the United States, while others came to us from Europe. They’re all saying the same thing: “Oh no, I screwed up my car’s paint [insert crying emoji here].”
The possibility that some of these videos were staged in pursuit of likes and views and Engagement *shudders* isn’t lost on us, but the damage is presumably real.
On one hand, we hate seeing cars get damaged. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Dodge Neon or a Lamborghini Countach: paint blemishes look terrible. We know, there’s more to a car than its appearance, but would you buy a car dotted with residue? Probably not, unless you’re either getting a killer deal on it or planning on repainting it. But on the other hand, how the hell did this not occur to the folks who plastered their car with tape?
Anyone who is old enough to drive has spent enough time on this planet to know that tape is going to leave residue when removed regardless of the surface it’s stuck to. That residue is glue, which plays a significant role in differentiating a piece of tape from a flimsy piece of plastic.
For the most part, it looks like the paint damage shown in the videos isn’t permanent. Heat, various chemicals, and elbow grease should get the bulk of it off, though for the love of clearcoat take your car to a professional detailer if you think there’s a chance you’ll make it worse. Keep these videos in mind if you’re planning on wrapping your car in lights, and don’t forget that every tiny piece of tape is pretty much a sticker.
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