desperate to remove car stickers

[NoSpamThanks]

Back in the mists of time we fitted "25" stickers front and back to the windows in our little Peugeot 106 to indicate to passing Mr. Plods that any youngsters driving the car could be stopped and interrogated for TDA.

Son is now learning to drive and he doesn't much like the presence of these open invitations to be hassled but of course the stickers have become very firmly attached to the glass.

Can anyone suggest what I can use to make the job of removing them easier? Just to make the situation even more fun, Mr Stupid who applied the stickers (me), placed the rear one overlapping the demisting elements!

Polite thoughts please (I've heard all the others from the teenager!).

[dave]

O

Try warming them up with a hair dryer set on very hot and then try gently easing the label off a bit at a time.

DAve

[Dave Plowman]

First, if they're paper have you tried water on a sponge to remove the worst of it? If they're plastic, you should be able to lift a corner with a sharp knife - something like a glass scraper (the type that takes a stanley knife blade side on is ideal) When you've got the worst off, white spirits will usually deal with the rest.

[Jerry.]

Err, if the car has 'L' plates attached and a 'adult' sitting in the front seat I doubt the police would intervene....

Lighter fuel 'petrol', white sprit, the best is car bodyshop 'sprit wipe'.

A hair dryer might work (obviously not with a combination of the above !...), many stickers peal off if a little WARM air is applied to the plastic first - 'GB' type stickers always seem to need it.

Remove the remains of any glue with one of the above fluids.

[Andy Hall]

Not even to prevent GBH?? :-)

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Jerry.]

But only if you have windscreen insurance....!

Warm air is all you need.

[Jerry.]

Not good advice IMO Dave, some heater elements are on the surface and could be easily damaged by either pulling the sticker(s) off without first weakening the glue or with the scraper. If the heater elements are sub surface than your suggestion / would . be OK.

[Bob Eager]

The particular stickers the OP is talking about are a pain to remove. They are designed that way....they are plastic, very thin, and disintegrate if you try to peel them. I never had to remove one as in all cases I sold the car...!

[nightjar]

If nothing else works, try sticking something else over them from the outside. That is probably what any youngster who nicked the car would do.

Colin Bignell

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , Dave Plowman writes

They're plastic which has become brittle - picking at it with a fingernail removes a minute piece (if anything)

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , Jerry. writes

I'm fairly sure the heater elements are on the surface, I've so far just been picking at the sticker on the windscreen and leaving the rear one alone.

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , Bob Eager writes

Selling the car not an option here since this nice nippy battered 106 is destined to be son & heir's first car, (insurance scary price as it is already).

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , Jerry. writes

Yes, but once he's set free on the Queen's Highway in September (the bank manager will be very happy if spending on lessons cease asap) then it will be a problem.

I think hair dryers at dawn is going to be the order for tomorrow. :))

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , nightjar writes

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , dave @ stejonda writes

part number 496-215, Label Remover, 3 of your earth pounds. Spray on, go for a beer, come back (optional), remove sticker. It's as easy as that.

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , Mike Tomlinson writes

Thanks, but no good (though I enjoyed the ale).

"Used to remove paper and other porous labels Fluid needs to penetrate the label which can then be scraped off"

These are very much plastic - I think they'll laugh in the face of lemon juice.

[Dave Plowman]

If you can isolate the surroundings from damage, I'd try Nitromors paint stripper. It certainly attacks some plastics, but won't damage glass. I'm not sure about the heater element, though.

[nightjar]

That sounds like a tamper-proof label, which makes sense for the application. A very sharp chisel or, better, a scraper of the type described is probably the only way. You might need to leave a few bits on around the heater element though.

Colin Bignell

[Mike Barnes]

In my experience, label-remover fluid (I use the Electrolube brand) works OK even on non-absorbent plastic film labels. The fluid seems to creep under the edge of the label and through the adhesive, obviously more slowly than seeping through the label surface, but still fast enough to be pretty effective. I wouldn't say it *dissolves* the adhesive but it softens it enough that it gives way before the label.

I'd apply label remover round the edges, wait about ten minutes, get as much as I could off with a scraper (taking care round the heater element), then repeat as necessary. Warming with a hair drier might speed things up a bit.

And/or look at your insurance policy and see what provisions there are for accidentally broken windows. :-)

[NoSpamThanks]

In message , nightjar writes

I just thought I'd post how I sorted this.

While in the loft getting my plumbing box down again (see other thread) I came across an old tin of Homebase Paint & Varnish Remover & gave it a go. Its instant effect was to remove the colouring from the sticker leaving a slightly opaque blank circle (so much for tamperproof :) A further application loosened the body of the sticker which wilted off and a third application enabled the residual glue to be wiped away. (All rinsed with copious amounts of water of course.) The heater elements which are indeed proud of the rear window surface were untouched by the first two stages but I didn't push my luck getting the remaining glue off.

Thanks for all the help you can rest assured that the roads in Sth London | Nth Kent will now be just that tiny bit less safe as a result of your efforts. :)