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I can’t tell you how many times I have purchased items to resell that have stickers on them that won’t come off. A particular thrift store I purchase china at has a tendency to put a sticker on every single piece of china in a set and on all glasses. After several years of removing stickers I have built up an arsenal of cleaning products that get the job done.

Warning: Always test the methods below on an inconspicuous spot on your items to be sure the item doesn’t get damaged. Some items are porous and will absorb the cleaner and leave discoloration or spots. Be very careful with hand painted pottery as well since some cleaners may damage the finish.

Heat I have found that many stickers will come off completely by applying heat from either a blow dryer or heat gun on a low setting. The heat softens the glue and makes it easier to remove.

Oil Oil Olive oil works remarkably well on removing residual sticker glue. I put some on a cotton ball, dab it generously on the glue and let it sit for a while. Sometimes I have to let it sit for 30 minutes or more to get the glue off. If your item is porous, olive oil can soak in and leave a dark spot.

Lighter Fluid You have to be very careful using lighter fluid to remove stickers since it is very flammable. I only use lighter fluid as a last resort. It does work very well.

Vaseline Like olive oil, Vaseline does a great job of removing sticker goo.

Nail Polish Remover I find that non-oily nail polish remover gets the glue off but what I like to use it for is removing pen marks from china. Another thrift store I frequent uses permanent markers to write prices on the bottom of their china and dishware. Nail polish remover takes it right off. I have also used nail polish remover on glossy covered books to take off pen marks (always test first).

Goo Gone I use a lot of Goo Gone in my shop. It is a citrus based cleaner made especially for cleaning sticker and glue residue. It works quickly but it has an odor that some people might find offensive (my husband always tells me it stinks). The odor dissipates after a short time and won’t linger on your items.

WD-40 Not just for fixing squeaky doors, WD-40 sprayed on a cotton ball then dabbed on the glue residue works really well.

Rubbing Alcohol Rubbing alcohol works but not as well as some of the other products listed above.

I can not emphasize enough the importance of testing these products on the bottom or in an inconspicuous spot before using them on your items. You don’t want to ruin a precious antique in an effort to remove a sticker.

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Tags: removing sticker glue, removing stickers, removing tag glue, sticker goo, sticker residue, tag glue

This entry was posted on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 7:22 am and is filed under Cleaning Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.