Wire Labeling

[Steve W10]

Hey all,

Finally getting around to labeling all of my wiring and my search of course had me back to review MaineSail's excellent input here... http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,6911.0.html

Coincidentally I have the exact same Brother Label Maker, but of course my terminal ends are already installed so heat shrink won't work.

I know the labels will fall off if not covered with something.  Does anyone know of a good quality transparent tape that will hold up without turning to mush, yellowing, or becoming brittle and flaking off?

Thanks,
Steve

  And before you say it Stu, Yes, I do have detailed drawings of my entire electrical system.   

[mregan]

When I was labeling the wiring, I would print out a little extra blank label then wrap the label around the wire (on the short side of the label) and stick both sides of the label together.   Not sure if you get my meaning.  If you held the wire up, the label would be sticking out the side like a flag.
On larger wiring like the battery cables, I would attach the label the long way on the cable (like Mainesail showed in his thread) then I would wrap each end of the label in elec. tape.  That should ensure the labels don't fall off.

[Roc]

Frost King makes a clear weatherproof tape that has a large hot and cold temperature life.  I don't know if this will work, but it might be worth a try.  Home Depot has this in the weather stripping section.

[Ron Hill]

What I've always used (because I didn't have a fancy label maker) is a thin label strip, write on the strip and wrap it with scotch tape.  Just make sure that the scotch tape seals against itself all the way around. 
In some cases I taped on a number and have a card in plastic that defines the number/function on the wire.

I've got strips that I installed 25 years ago that are still legible.  A thought

[Stephen Butler]

We have used clear nail polish on our labels and so far, so good.  It was what we had one day on the hook and needed some sealant.