Sticker, tape, and stain removal.

I'm not sure if this fits here or into a more general thread, but hows about the removal of stickers from catridges (especially the labels) without leaving residue or marks? I've got plenty of second hand items that get price tags added that are a pain to get off.

From regular plastic surfaces a light citric solution (diluted versions of general store 'goo gone' or whatnot) will tend to remove the glue left behind by stickers or tape. This doesn't though help with masking tape which seems to bond much more with the plastic.

Sorry if that doesn't fit or something.

 

usually i warm them with an hair dryier at max heatness for some time and then remove them without any problem

 

Heh, I "barowed" my sisters hair dryer, and that worked pretty good for getting some stickers off or my Genesis carts. :icon_bigg

Since goodwill stores are the only place I can find Genesis carts were I live (not including the interwebz), they always have some price tag that seams to be fused with the plastic :lol:

Thanks! :dance:

 

no prob. we're here to share and help, right?

 

Would that risk peeling off the real label or would it not due to a different type of glue being used.

 

I've used the "hair-dryer trick" a few time with mixed success. In a few cases the glue used on the sticker have been of some really sadistic type =/

 

or maybe you were not patiently waiting for long enough

 

The regular industrial cleaner sold in electronics stores (e.g. Servisol's Label Remover) works well on anything sticky. You should let it soak a bit. And yes, that has a lemony smell.

Masking tape?! That's a low-tack tape. Are you sure that's what you mean? I could see gaffa tape being a problem.

 

Maybe he means the brown packaging tape, that stuff is a nightmare to shift.

Whilst on the subject (maybe a little off topic) does anyone have any tips on removing stickers from game inlays? I have a fair few SMS/MD games where some spanner has put a sticker with his name on it actually on the insert. Cheers for that Chris whoever you are .

 

did you try with the hairdrier trick?

 

Same thing again, use the product I mentioned. You have to be very careful though or you can discolour artwork. Practice a LOT before!!

We always did it on boxes etc. and it usually came out OK. I've done a lot of PS2 game inlays, too.

http://cpc.farnell.com/SALABEL130/e...aids/product.us0?sku=servisol-100016000-200ml

 

I've tried the hairdrier trick before but the stickers are made of a sort of flexible plastic. They look like the kind of labels that are used on chemical containers, designed to withstand heat, water, etc. I don't fancy trying that spray in case i discolour the inserts, i'd rather have the sticker on than a damaged insert. Any other ideas? Or would it be easier to just buy new copies of the games when i see them cheap?

 

One way I have used to remove paper based stickers from boxes (it can work for plastic stickers but it's more hassle), is to use painters tape, sticky label remover, an atomiser, and a device normally used for removing dead skin from feet and a lot of patience.

Stick painters tape around the sticker, painters tape uses the same sort of glue that post it notes use but it does stop liquids from running under it and can be removed cleanly.

Put sticky label remover in the atomiser and lightly spray on the sticker you want to remove. You want the label to be moist, so the liquid penetrates the paper and acts on the glue under it. Wait a few minutes and do it again, I would recommend 2 or 3 applications.

try to peel off the sticker, you may just take the paper off, do it very slowly as if the glue isn't wet it will still be sticky. Spray more label remover if needed.

Once you removed the paper use a jay cloth with stick label remover on it and dab the residue away. Try not to get the box wet but keep dabbing to keep the residue moist.

If you can't remove it then use the tool and gentlely file away the residue off, if done well it should remove it cleanly, too hard and you'll damage the box. However some glue stain the box and this is basically unremovable.

 

Either will eat plastic in my experience, had a paper towel leave a nice texture on an XBox I was working on...

On the plus side they will eat through just about anything sticky, including thermal glue.

 

on my guitar i remove stickers with weapon oil, so i thought why not try this on a cartridge? works a treat!

 

For that one, is better to not even touch. Same as sticker on CD / DVD discs.

 

I had written an article on this at one point:

http://www.electricpickleonline.com/?p=52

Covers pretty much everything you need to know, even decade-old stickers from cardboard boxes.

 

This is intense. I'd like to see a youtube video of this process.

I have trouble adding more tape to my stuff. So much of what I'm trying to get stickers off of is old, I fear that any more adhesive may remove the top layer of the box.

Lately I've been up against massive amounts of Gamestop/EBGames stickers. The older ones are a huge pain to peel, and it can be hard for me to justify 20 minutes to remove sticker residue from a 50 cent already beat up case. I still do it sometimes, but perhaps some day in the future I'll just buy a few hundred OEM cases for my Xbox collection.