@Jordan_interiorsadl recently shared a Q&A about his experience using the Tapepro Auto Taper after a nearly a year of ownership. When he bought it, he had never used one before—just saw guys on Instagram “crushing it” and thought he could do the same. “I thought I could just fill it up, run it and it would be the exact same, but I was so wrong.”
Here are a few of the key things he’s learned and advice to those who have yet to purchase a Taper:
1. Understanding how the taper works
1. Understanding How the Taper Works & Avoiding Paper Jams
“So basically the first thing I wish I knew, was understanding how it worked because I thought it was kind of just like a normal taper where the tape will pull through and it puts the mud on it, but it’s actually two different systems.
So you can just peel the tape through, but if you’re not spinning the wheel, it’s not pulling the plunger up. When you start pumping it up, it fills it up and pulls the plunger down. It’s almost like a little pulley system and then the wheel, as it turns and you’re advancing it, it’ll start spitting the mud out and then you’ve got to get the tape going to put the layer on.
Then how it works to cut. So as you pull down on the lever it’s sort of like a shotgun, it brings the blade across. So, it’s important to stop the bazooka before you cut the tape because if you’re doing it while you’re still rolling, it’s just going to jam and once you do get a jam, it’s all full of mud. You won’t be able to see it. So one thing that I will tell you guys not to do is get a small tool once it’s jammed and jam it in there because you’re going to bend the blade and then it’s just going to jam every other time that you take it back in after you’ve cleaned it and you’re just going to want to throw it. So don’t do that! “
Here’s a quick tip if you get dry compound inside your tape guide:
2. Mud Consistency
“Pretty much my internal taping mud consistency that I would use with my Zunder is what I’d use here. Quite runny basically. So it’s nice and smooth, straight through, there’s no thickness. You can go too thin but I’d rather it probably be too thin than too thick. So about the same consistency as you would for your internals through your little banjo.”
3. Is the Taper worth it?
“Is it worth it or is it easier just to use the mouse? It’s still easier to use the mouse but if you’re an everyday flusher like me,
you know, I don’t install so I’m just there to tape and flush.
So this is perfect for me. If you’re the all-rounder maintenance type of person and you’re flushing one or two days a week, probably not. I would avoid it. But the everyday guys like me, it’s definitely worth your time learning to use it.”
4. Base coat or All Purpose?
“All-purpose definitely. I wouldn’t run base through this ever.
I’m sure there’s people that would put a bit of citric acid in their mix and go for it but it’s going to be a gamble at the end of the day and I don’t want all the parts that you can see here getting stuffed with base because it’s an expensive mistake if you mess it up.”
5. Where to fill it and the weight of it?
“Open the gate, flip it upside down, put it on the gooseneck and get about 9 pumps to fill up the whole tube. You don’t want to overfill it because if you overfill it you won’t be able to close this and you’ll flip it and then you’ll squeeze it down and it’s going to squirt all the mud everywhere. So, I like to go just a little bit under when I’m filling it up.
The weight of it. So you get about 4 fills out of a bucket so it is heavier than any other machine or taping box obviously but you’ve got two hands on it so the weight’s a little bit.
It’s not like a box where you’ve got all the weight on one side. It’s kind of like holding a guitar is the best way to describe it and you’re cutting it without having to pull out a blade so the
weight’s more distributed across your body so it’s a little bit easier in that sense. It’s still heavy, but it’s more of an even weight if that makes sense.”
6. Do I regret buying it?
“Will I tell people to buy it? Well basically it’s helped me. The good thing that I like about it is I’ll tape all the walls. If I’m doing like a big 700 meter job, 2.7, I can get that from the ground, the ceiling. I can do my internals. I can do my flats all from the ground and my internals all the way up just with this machine. I’m not getting on the stilts. I’m not kicking around a crate or a step ladder to do my internals. I get it all off one go with this thing. So that’s probably the best thing of it but if you’re not doing that sort of stuff then probably not. So yeah it’s definitely been worth it. I’m still not 100% with it so I still will have tape fall down on me and probably will continue to but it’s definitely been worth it.”