Never used helicopter tape before and I was wondering if it would be any good at protecting the paintwork from doggy paw prints/scratches on the rear bumper of a car?
Doesn’t pull the paint of does it?

It took the paint off my previous cars rear bumper….most manufacturers sell a proper protector I would’ve thought?

They do…. £45 for a piece of film cut to size!

I bought that… you have to fit it wet then squeegee the water out. Next time I’m going to try some old window-obscuring vinyl I’ve got left over from when I did the garage windows.

You could try Foliatec

http://www.foliatec.co.uk/paint-protection-film-boost-sill-protector-1-piece-9-5-x-120-cm/

I use it instead of heli-tape on my bikes. It’s as tough and once it’s been on for a while you’d never know it was there it blends in so well.
It’s probably a bit dearer than tape though. It comes in various size rolls. I find a little soapy water helps with the fitting.

I’ve used both 3M venture shield tape from Invisble Patterns and also a plastic stick on bumper guard to protect our cars from doggy scratch marks.

It’s also worth trying just a piece of material that you roll out before the dogs jump out. You can place one end of the material under the boot carpet to hold it secure and then just roll the rest up.

can you not just take it to one of those vinyl wrap specialists and ask them to just wrap the rear bumper?

My last car’s rear bumper was a right ol mess, so I bought one of these liners http://r.ebay.com/uD2kad . Nice wide flap (bigger than in the pic) to just flip over the bumper when loading.

Loads of other options on Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Bootlids-Tailgates-Parts-/174047/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=bumper+protector

or this seller does a bumper specific heli-tape for around £12
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/rotopshop?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

Or you can do what I do and do nothing

Top of bumper full of random marks of kids mucking about, dog jumping in and out, random junk and buggy/pushchair

It hasn’t been abused, but I see it as patina

If I had a new car I’d probably think differently though

all those tapes are very similar. Use a brand name (ie 3M) if you want something that will last well but be aware that although it is good for scuffs it is easily cut if you catch it with anything sharp. That is unavoidable though. The carbon type tapes might be a bit tougher in that respect if they have a harder polymer laminated into them but I’ve not seen them in the flesh and they may not be to your tastes.

Clean the area well and make sure there is no wax.

For removal I would use a hot air gun on low to soften the acrylic adhesive.

Also very useful where roof rack or bike rack pads sit against your car or where bikes etc can touch.