For any thread, let alone pedals, stick out your right hand (or your left for a left-hand thread), and point your thumb in the direction you want any fastener to go.

Turn in the direction your fingers curl. *BAM*

And electrical tape works on high-pressure wheels too. But you have to pre-stretch it and use a couple of staggered layers, particularly if the nipple holes approach the width of the stretched tape.

Another neat use for electrical tape (or better, duct tape, which is pretty much the same stuff but wider): say you have a Shimano-geared wheel you want to run on a Campy-shifted bike, and say it's 9 speed, then your cassette spacers need to be 0.2mm thicker.

Guess what, PVC tape is 0.1mm thick.