IS it ok to put tape on your skates? i know it's protecting the scratches, and so on, but when i take mine off, it leaves a little residue around the edges of where the tape it,,, is this bad? or can i get it off somehow?
Thanks

It's fine to tape your skates, but you should remove it about once a month and clean the boots. Before applying tape, polish your boots with a creme polish and do not buff. This protects the finish from the glue. If you leave the tape on too long, you can discolor the leather. I was told that products sold to clean leather car seats can help, but haven't tried any myself.

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A lot of synchro skaters who have white skates do it all the time, at least around where I live. I know some of them do it only temporarily (for competitions), don't know about others.

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I put tape on them, but I take it off every 1,5-2 months or so, and for every competition/test etc. Sometimes a tiny strip of black remains, which I then peel off with my nails, it comes off ridiculously easily. Maybe part of this is the water-resistant coating I sprayed on my skates when I first got them.
I'm told that if you don't take the tape off for long periods of time, residue remains, but you can take that off with nail-polish remover, I've been told.
I did notice my skates went a tad yellowish everywhere, except where the tape was. But it's barely noticeable from close-up and certainly not noticeable from any distance, and besides you can only see it in daylight, not in fluroscent rink lighting. I do like tape better than working with boot covers, because firstly, I went through a pair of bootcovers every month or so (I fixed them up again, but still), secondly the blades often went through the bootcovers but they don't go through 2 layers of tape, thirdly I kept forgetting putting on boot covers and lastly, it's easy to have quick access to the laces to adjust.

Yeah, I noticed my boots changed colour everywhere except for the pure white under the tape.

I use eucalyptus oil to remove the residue. There are special preparations you can buy, such as Desolve, which have citrus oil in them. Both work well and don't damage the boot surface. Both smell strongly, so depends on smell preference. Eucalyptus oil is way cheaper, but that's in Australia.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am