desperate to remove car stickers

I guess this was potent enough to dissolve the plastic, and sticky enough to stay there while it did so.

For the archives another option might be acetone, depednding on what the plastic is. Readily available as cheap nail polish remover - some of the more expensive stuff is no longer acetone based.

In article , dave @ stejonda writes

It does work, though. I've used it on several of those plastic-coated tamperproof labels (the ones that flake off into minute pieces when you try to pick them off, which is what you've described.) It seems that enough of the label remover gets under the surface to do its evil deed. Provided you give the stuff time enough do its work (hence the suggested extended stay in the alehouse), that is.

Glad to hear you got it off anyhow.

Tamperproofness is achieved by eliminating most plasticiser from the label, causing it to snap, rather than bend when you try to remove it. If you can heat it to around 100C, it bends very well, and can be peeled off whole. Of course, attempting to heat the label to 100C may cause an entirely different method of removing it.