My problem was that the residue was from the seal stickers on the edges of the Disney Treasures tins. And it was a lot of residue. So I didn't exactly want to leave it on there to collect dirt and stick to the back of the other tins. The dented tins look bad enough without being covered with sticky dirt on top of it.

I wasn't talking about a sticker on a slipcover that lists the bonus features, or anything.

What I do in those cases is to re-apply the just peeled off sticker over the residue and remove it again. Sometimes it works well in a few tries and sometimes I have to do this 15-20 times. But it will eventually peel off the rest of the residue without needing to apply any residue remover.

Actually, you just need to let the Goo-Gone soak in for a few seconds, and any solid paper will actually peel away in one piece. You'll be able to see the label turn translucent as it becomes saturated, then you should be able to peel any solid portions away and then deal with the goo underneath.

Um, excuse me, but Goo-Gone is NOT "oil-based" in the way you're thinking of it. I've already explained that it's *citrus oil*, which is not like petroleum-based oil. There is a distinct difference.

Yeah, that's always the first thing I try, too. But, in this case, there was just too much and it wasn't coming off.

What I actually ended up using were alcohol wipes. Worked pretty well.

So should I try to get the sticker off manually before using Goo-Gone, or just use it from the beginning as you described?

so the poor man's goo-gone is rubbing alcohol or wd40 right?

If the poor man doesn't mind using chemicals that can break down the plastic case or graphics sleeve, and doesn't mind the smell, sure. Of course when you look at how much a bottle of Goo-Gone costs, the "poor man's Goo-Gone" is basically, well, Goo-Gone. In some places you can even get a teeny little trial-size bottle for around 99 cents, which is more than you'll probably ever need (did I mention you need to use this stuff sparingly?), but of course a regular-size bottle probably isn't much more expensive.

Trying to peel the sticker off first is always the best way to go. The most important thing is technique, so maybe try pulling labels off old Windex bottles or stick some address labels onto something you don't care about so you can get a feel for what to do so you don't rip the label. The funny thing about stickers is that even though you don't care about them, trying to get them off in one piece is the best way to make sure they don't leave any residue.

You of course also need to understand that some labels just aren't gonna go quietly -- they're gonna rip, but when they do, just keep trying until you're down to plain white. If you try to use Goo-Gone before trying to peel off the label, you can cause ink to run off onto other parts of the cover, which can stain other labels you want to leave on, or just generally make things difficult by leaching into the cloth (paper towels usually work best) you're using so the ink can deposit itself onto whatever you touch next. You basically want to "skin" the label so what's left can soak up the Goo-Gone. Once the slick label surface is gone, this should be easy.

Two tips: First, always remove the cover from the case if possible. If some of the liquid seeps under the sleeve, you don't want it to soak into your cover. Second, Goo-Gone and the others work best if you remove as much of the sticker as possible. In addition to the top gloss layer of the sticker, try to get rid of all the white pulpy stuff so all that's left is the actual goo. Otherwise, you'll have to work harder rubbing at it.

I swear by a product called "Un-Du". It removes magazine address labels without harming the cover, and works great for me on DVDs too...

Exactly, but Goo-Gone is going to break down the goo enough to make the "pulpy" stuff peel right off in one piece. If you keep digging at the case until you remove as much of the white stuff as possible and THEN use Goo-Gone, you'll still get rid of the goo, but then you'll see a lot of marks where you tried to peel off dry label material. All you need to do is get the glossy surface off and soak the rest with Goo-Gone.

I had alluded to removing the cover insert in an earlier post, but I probably wasn't as clear as I needed to be, so yes, that is definitely recommended.

Yeah, if you try to chip away at the white pulpy stuff with your fingernail or a blade or something you have to be careful not to knick the hell out of it. Soaking it and swiping it off in one clean swoop is probably the more dependable method, but if you've got your technique down good you can cut it away without causing any damage. It's all about technique.

I use both Un-Du and Goo Gone frequently. I find Un-Du (available at Hobby Lobby) superior for removing labels, especially labels on paper. I have used Un-Du to remove numerous lables from DVD cover art without damage. In fact, I would use Un-Du entirely, but it's more expensive than Goo Gone, so I save it for removing labels, and I clean up any adhesive residue with Goo Gone.

That's my main problem...I can't even get a third of the label off without it ripping.

That's to be expected. Some labels will only come off in tiny, tiny pieces (i.e. as soon as you start peeling, it rips). What you need to do is let it rip as much as it wants to, just get the color layer off so you have a completely white area, even if it's exactly the size and shape of the whole sticker (meaning it kept ripping so much you couldn't even reduce the perimiter of the sticker). Once you have the graphics off, you can soak the white part of the sticker with Goo-Gone for a few seconds and it should peel off nicely.

If you're dealing with a sticker that just will NOT budge, even enough to get the top layer off, you can soak it with Goo-Gone right away. By this I do NOT mean to soak the item in a tub full of Goo-Gone -- I mean squirt just enough Goo-Gone on the label until it soaks in and completely moistens the paper label. If you have at least some of the top layer removed, squirt the Goo-Gone onto the ripped white area and it should soak into the entire label.

As I've mentioned before, you really need to be careful if you're using Goo-Gone on any surface where there's still ink. Ink from intact labels will start to run, and your paper towel will quickly become a magic marker once the ink soaks in. If you're removing a sticker from a plastic or metal surface, Goo-Gone should be fine. However, any time there's a sticker on a cardboard slipcover or something similar, you have to be VERY careful. If the slipcover has a glossy surface, you should be fine. Still, don't let the Goo-Gone or any liquid run to the edge, because it can soak in there. Also, if the cardboard doesn't have a slick glossy surface, the Goo-Gone can soak right into it, so while you might be able to remove the sticker, you'll probably be left with a big grease stain that's larger than the sticker itself. That's not to say that Goo-Gone actually contains grease, it doesn't. It's just that the stain will *look* like a grease stain.

Good luck! :)

Uh, how many times do I have to say "naphtha lighter fluid?" Man, I really don't mean to be rude but screw Goo-Gone. I've used lighter fluid countless times to remove stickers and it has NEVER DAMAGED in any way either paper or plastic covers. Seriously, get it! The Walgreen's brand is like $1.50. Soaked the hell out of stickers with no damaging. A thin layer evaporates completely in seconds.

Well, I think a lot of it is the fact that's it's a petroleum product and Goo-Gone is simply citrus oil. Since there's often plastic involved, people are usually hesitant about reaching for lighter fluid. Also it seems that using a product specifically designed for the task is preferable to using a flammable liquid just because it might get the job done.

I'm not saying which is better, just trying to answer the question as to why people don't use lighter fluid. Seems logical to me, though. As for the cost issue, Goo-Gone is dirt cheap as well. I'd imagine that most people don't have any other use for lighter fluid, so they'd have to go out and buy something either way, and when they got it home they'd have a flammable liquid around that they'd only need once in a while.

Just my theory, though.

Lighter fluid doesn't work any better than Goo Gone. I've used them both extensively and they work about the same. The idea that lighter fluid is "safe" on paper products is ridiculous, however. It's a liquid and liquid will damage paper if it soaks in. The positive results he's getting are probably with slip covers and other papers that have a heavy gloss layer.

Another vote for Zippo type Lighter Fluid - I'm 59 years old and been using it for 30 years on those hard to remove sticky things - like when you move into a new place and open up all of the boxes and there's tape residue left on the linoleum floor, for removing the sticky crap when you try to remove the labels from many items bought in the stores nowadays - and for the past 7 years ---- for removing that sticky residue from trying to peel the DAMNED security stickers off DVD cases! When using it on DVD cases I always remove the paper cover from beneath the plastic first and then put some lighter fluid on a single square of toilet paper (T.P.) and rub that on the residue until gone. If there is a whole heck of a lot, then you need to turn the T.P. often and sometimes finish the job with a 2nd square of T.P. - again squirted with the lighter fluid.
I ALWAYS have Zippo Lighter fluid in the house - and I do not use a lighter!

I've heard that some book restorers use it in their work. I never tried it on plain, non-glossy paper so I just now applied some to a photocopy. It evaporated completely with absolutely no staining of the paper (*edit to add* and no curling of the paper either). The copied writing did not run at all nor did the ballpoint ink handwritten on the page. Ridiculous, I tells ya.

Goo Gone has never done me wrong.

Not being snide here, but this may be a large source of the gap between Goo-Goners and Zippo-heads (yaaay... I coined new terms! :) ). I'm not saying that lighter fluid doesn't work, just that we younger folk have products that are specifically designed for certain jobs, whereas older folks are used to adapting existing products to work at other tasks. For example, Vaseline was used for years for, erm, all kinds of things, even though that's not what it was designed for. Now we have all kinds of other products for the same purpose that work much better. ;)

This debate is already, er, flammable enough, but I have to say that even though Zippo-heads might not notice a scent, I can always tell when I buy or receive a DVD in trade that's been in a WD-40/Zippo user's household. I'm not talking smokers vs. non-smokers, just people who don't recognize the lingering aroma of industrial lubricants. Might be a blue-collar vs. white-collar thing, I don't know.

I found a great way to remove sticker adhesive from DVD cases. I've only used it on DVD cases but it may be good for removing residue from the label side if discs.

Though it's use is intended for removal of adhesive caused by bandages it works like a charm on adhesive residue left on DVD cases. I had one ugly looking case that adhesive residue was left behind on from the security labels and it got worse because dirt and other particles got stuck to it. I used Remove wipes by Smith and Nephew and it looks brand new.

A seller on amazon has a 50 pack but if you search the net it maybe less expensive elsewhere. I've tried all sorts of methods with mixed results and this is the first time I've been completely satisfied with how it turned out.

http://www.amazon.com/Smith-Nephew-R.../dp/B000GG7R9K

i might have to try these. i have several that could use a little help.

[rant]it freaking drives me nuts when the sticker pulls off the bottom edge of the cover. [end rant]