I think I was lucky. I tried only a very small area, largely on the plastic window surround rather than the metal, and it was a place where the tape residue was at its thickest.
Many thanks to everyone for the suggestions.
Bert
Clearly the best and most practical suggestion so far. I'll buy one today.
Bert
Quite. Under similar circumstances, I have towed cars into the road, then reported them to the police.
A general rule is "like dissolves like" so if the sticky stuff is non-polar, a non-polar solvent will dissolve it and vice versa.
Non-polar solvents are basically hydrocarbons, so it really doesn't matter if you try lighter fluid, WD40, white spirit or petrol; if one doesn't work the others probably won't either.
Same for weakly polar solvents like alchohols; IPA, meths or surgical spirit. If one doesn't work don't waste time trying the others.
Acetone and halogenated hydrocarbons like carbon tetrachloride, chloroform and trichloroethylene are excellent general-purpose solvents because they have both polar and non-polar ends, but the latter are potentially dangerous and hard to come by these days.
I suspect the proprietary label/sticky stuff removes you can buy are just a mixture of polar and non-polar solvents.
Think you'll find it is.
Lidl fairly recently had label remover. You might still find it since it's a small aerosol so doesn't take up much shelf space. Works on any residue I've tried it on. Think Maplin etc sell similar - at 5 times the price.
I'd normally give petrol a go.
I haven't tried Lidl yet, but Maplin sell IPA (in 1 litre cans, which would probably be several lifetimes' worth) so that's a last-ditch attempt, I suppose.
Bert
Label remover isn't the same as IPA. It smells rather like fruit juice. ;-)
If you want to commit criminal damage, painting diagram 1026.1 onto the road will probably be more effective and less likely to get you reported for the offence.
The label remover I used on magtapes, many years ago, smelled powerfully of eucalyptus. I suspect that was its main (only?) ingredient.
One of the common things that might do it without being too aggressive against automotive paint is fresh orange peel. The citral and limonene oils in the peel have powerful solvating properties for organic gunk. You can eat the orange inside first the skin you want.
BTW try out IPA on a small patch first. I expect it is OK. And wear eye protection using IPA a splash in the eye is extremely painful.
Regards, Martin Brown
Fascinating (and tasty). Thanks for that.
Bert
Recent label removers are usually based on dextro - limonene which is squeezed from the waste left over (peals, pips and bit of wood etc) during the industrial production of Orange Juice, and is therefore totally non-toxic and bio-replaceable.
It has been used in cosmetics and to flavour cheap ice lollies, blancmanges, etc.
Effectively, it is your actual turpentine but made from citrus trees.
DerekG
This is unsurfaced by-way. Notices on gates might help but they then become targets for vandals and I am opposed to littering the countryside with messages telling visitors something they must already know.
regards
Co-incidentally; immediately after this question was asked I had occasion to find out for myself, removing parcel tape glue residue from a piece of flatpack furniture that had been re-packed 20 years ago and forgotten about. Mr Muscle general cleaner (not the oven cleaner) with the citric stuff in it does the job. Just spray on the residue and leave for five minutes, scrub off with a nylon sink pad. Sorted.
Intention has to be proved. My excuse would be trying to communicate with the driver in the most practical, reliable manner. :-)
Be careful though, Mr Muscle changed formulation recently to a "New, Improved!" formula, which of course doesn't work worth a damn.
A friend of mine, a shooter and lab chemist, used to get through 100+ bottles a year for both purposes. They've now given up on it entirely.
In the end, Maplin's own-brand label remover did the job beautifully and almost effortlessly: not quite spray-on/wipe-off but very nearly. And it left the window surround smelling strongly of oranges.
Bert
Think they all need to soak for a while.
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