Sticker Residue
 

I just started collecting the Walt Disney Treasures tins, and when I removed the seals from one of the tins it left the sticker residue. I tried to use the sticker itself to remove it, but it didn't work. Anyone have any suggestions as to what to do?

I tried nail polish remover, but even that wasn't working so well. I'm sure I'm not the only person who's had this problem or is this anal about having clean packaging. Any tips would be appreciated.

Goo-Gone...works like a charm

Thanks. I'll pick some up.

Ditto. It cleans and helps take out all that glue residue of those damn stickers.

Does Goo-Gone work on the cardboard sleeves that come with so many new releases?

WD-40 also works well, including on cardboard sleeves.

Become a real collector and leave them unopened on the shelf.

I use Wd-40 also. Works great.

Yeah, I just put some on toilet paper and then rub it accross back and forth until its gone. Works fine without messing up cardboard. I wouldn't recommend leaving the goo gone on the cardboard since it might soak in.

Sounds like 90% of my dvds haha.

Goo-Gone smells way better, though. WD-40 isn't without it's charms, either. I'd say buy both, mix, sniff, and forget why you had them out in the first place.

Both work well.

cheers,

-the Jesus

So what am I doing wrong with applying Goo Gone? The two times I've tried it, it's ruined the cases I've used it on, and left quite a bit of sticker as well.

spray some wd40 on a napkin and rub it and it should come off.. It always works for me. :)

The thing about Goo-Gone is that it just *breaks down* the goo. You need to apply enough to keep it liquid, otherwise you're just wiping off the top layer of goo and once the goo thins out, it gets sticky again. Make sure you scrape off all you can with a credit card or something that's not gonna scratch, then apply more Goo-Gone until it dries clean. If the paper part of the sticker is still there when you start, you need to soak that with Goo-Gone until it peels off easily -- doesn't take much. It should be a pretty intuitive process, but if you're new at this it might take a while to figure out what you're supposed to do to achieve good results.

As for WD-40, if you want your DVDs to smell like toolshed, go right ahead. :yack:

I forgot to mention to not EVER let Goo-Gone soak into paper or cardboard that you plan to keep, because it will discolor it and it will probably never be the same again. If a sticker comes off TOO easily, it sometimes means the UV coating on a cardboard slipcase has come off with it, and if you apply Goo-Gone, it's gonna soak into the unprotected cardboard. You'll want to remove any artwork from Amaray cases before working with Goo-Gone, and if you must use it on cardboard or paper, do NOT let it run to the edge or anywhere it can soak in.

On the WD-40 thing again, Goo-Gone is basically just citrus oil, whereas WD-40 is a petroleum product (as is lighter fluid). Make your choice, but do it wisely.

Lighter fluid for Zippo lighters. There are a few brands. It'll usually state "contains naphtha" on the bottle. Amazing stuff and won't damage paper things.

Yep, goo-gone works great. I have so many unopened discs lying around for years and when I go to open them the glue always stays behind in clumps. If you don't take it off the cases stick to the adjacent ones. Annoying.

what stickers?
unless its a shop price sticker then you should leave it alone. where possible i leave the dvds in the shrinkwrap. there is no need to remove any stickers.
i've had a few old videos where theyve had nasty stickers. i just gently keep it wet and rub until most of its gone. i really cant see the problem????

I only use WD-40 on plastic. I've not tried it on paper/cardboard yet and probably never will. It does have a distinctive smell, but the smell doesn't linger. I keep my DVDs in a closed cabinet and there's no foul smell in there.

I have nothing against Goo Gone, but I already have WD-40 out in the garage. Seem pointless to spend money on another product when I already have one that works just fine.

Any liquid will damage paper. It's only safe if the paper has a heavy gloss coating (like a lot of slip covers do). But if you're trying to get sticky off of the actual paper cover, I wouldn't recommend using any liquid on it. In that case your best bet is to try gently rubbing it away with your fingers.

So basically, I need to soak it with Goo-Gone and let it dry before rubbing the sticker off?

How long should I let it sit for before rubbing?

I still prefer peanut butter, and it smells good.

just lick your fingers!! gently rub the residue off. but never scratch at it as that will leave some mark. if it's a seal sticker it may be better to just cut it rather than try and remove it and leave residue. only in amercia would you buy something that gets rid of sticker residue.

I second the recommendation for lighter fluid (not charcoal lighter fluid but the kind you put in wick type lighters that contains naphtha). It gets off just about any kind of sticker or adhesive residue and usually won't stain the paper underneath. I've used it for years on DVD and CD cases as well as book covers and it works better than anything else. Goo Gone and WD-40 are oil-based and will leave stains on paper and may leave an oily residue on anything plastic.

I did not have anything else so I used plain old gasoline for one my tins :)

It worked perfectly... had to use soap afterwards to get out the smell though :P

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.