Duct Tape

• Duct tape is a rubber-based tape developed for quick, temporary repairs in a variety of situations, including military operations. For short-term repairs, such as fixing a small leak on a canoe for a short amount of time, duct tape has enough tactile strength and staying power to be a viable solution. It was not, however, developed for long-term use, so it quickly loses its ability to stick and resist elements like water or temperature shifts.
  
  

Fiberglass Cloth Tape

• Fiberglass cloth tape is a more recent invention, and is practical for a number of applications, including aviation and to seal joints between pieces of drywall in construction products. There are many types of fiberglass cloth tape, and their basic construction is similar: Strands of fiberglass are woven together and joined at right angles to make a flexible material. In some cases, the fiberglass is used with another flexible material like acetate film, or the strands are arranged in a single direction.
  
  

Advantages of Fiberglass Cloth Tape

• Fiberglass tape is useful because of its high tensile strength, heat-resistance and resistance to environmental elements like moisture and corrosion. Because fiberglass tape tends to have greater adhesion and can be more closely molded to specific shapes, it is better-suited for long-term use in applications where duct tape would fail. Fiberglass tape has woven edges, which means it is less likely to unravel than duct tape.
  
  

Dangers of Substituting Duct Tape

• If duct tape is used in place of fiberglass cloth tape, it could cause problems over time. For temporary repairs, duct tape works well, but it will succumb to forces like moisture and heat much more rapidly. In especially high temperatures, duct tape is more likely to catch fire. The adhesive in duct tape is also much weaker than fiberglass cloth tape, so it is more likely to dry out and come undone.