Removing old blu-tack

[OG]

At our church we have plain unfinished brick walls and use blu-tack to hang posters etc. Not everyone who takes the posters down has had the time to completely remove the little blobs that have stuck to the brickwork, so we now have lots of little smudges of the stuff, some of which has been sitting there drying out for 15 years or more.

Does anyone have any experience with removing really old blu-tack? If a solvent is needed, is there one that won't give permanent 'damp' marks on the bricks which would be worse than the present problem?

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Owain]

The only thing I can suggest is sticking some fresh blu-tack over the old bits and hope it softens them.

Blu-tack isn't recommended for unsealed brick; I suggest painting the walls blu-tack blue or paint them white and invest in some white-tack.

Owain

[Guy King]

The message from "OG" contains these words:

There isn't really an answer - this is why many university halls don't allow Bluetak.

[Alan]

In message , OG wrote

To remove little bits of blu-tack try a large ball of blu-tack. It often sticks to itself better than it sticks to the surface of the wall.

[Stephen Howard]

Lighter fluid softens it up, but I don't know what effect it would have on brickwork.

Regards,

[PJ]

Especially in a building with burning candles.

[nightjar]

....

That reminds me of a tip from a Victorian book for household servants. It recommended painting the wainscoting with petroleum spirit (1/6d a pint from the chemist) to kill bedbugs, but advised against doing it by candle light.

Colin Bignell