How to Remove Stickers From Your Car

Do you want to get rid of that old, faded radio station bumper sticker? Did your kids decorate the car without your permission? Not to worry.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Car Wax
• Car Wax
• Blow Dryers
• Mild Soap
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Mild Soap
• Rubbing Alcohol
• Heat Guns
• Plastic Putty Knives

1. Try peeling the sticker off with your fingernails.

2. Heat vinyl stickers with a hair dryer or heat gun. Do not overheat the paint, or it will be more likely to chip.

3. Peel the sticker slowly, pulling it off at a 90-degree angle while heating the next section.

4. Put a solution of 1 c. rubbing alcohol and 1 c. water in a spray bottle.

5. Squirt the sticker with the solution and allow it to soak in for a few minutes.

6. Rub the sticker off with your fingers.

7. Wash the area with mild soap.

Tips & Warnings

• Never use a metal scraper or anything abrasive on your car's finish; try a plastic putty knife instead.
• Waxing the car will help buff up the surface after the adhesive has been removed.

Who Can Help Sponsored

[yourcomrade]

on 5/10/2008 I removed decal glue residue from painted surfaces using Finish Line Citrus Degreaser, undiluted. It required some reasonable rubbing with a cotton cloth, but worked really well. Make sure to clean the area after you're done.

You may be able to find this stuff at an auto store, but bike stores are a better bet. At 10$ a can I thought it was a bit pricey, but it's an excellent degreaser for many other needs. I will be trying this first before Goo Gone or any other "heavy" stuff from now on.

[drolar]

on 5/28/2007 5 minutes easy removal - (along the razor blade line) use a safety scraper. http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=291984

on 9/6/2006 I used nail polish remover to remove two stickers from my car today. It works best if you soak the stickers in the liquid. I applied the acetone using a paper towel.

on 8/8/2006 Use eucalyptus oil! Dampen a cloth or paper towel with some eucalyptus oil, and the sticky residue will be gone forever!

on 8/8/2006 If you're like me, and have made the mistake of using sticker paper to make your own car stickers, and thought you could weather-proof the paper with acrylic lacquer, then you've come to realize that when it rains the sticker turns into a mess of running, bleeding ink. When you try to remove the sticker afterward, the glue stays behind, and won't come off with a damp cloth or endless fingernail-pealing.
The best and only way to completely remove this type of glue is with cooking oil, a hairdryer and a plastic card, or baker's plastic dough cutter.
First, apply generous amounts of cooking oil to the offending glue area with a cloth, then heat with the hairdryer for about twenty seconds or so (the portion you want to remove first), and using the plastic card work downward to remove the glue, repeat if necessary. This worked a treat for me. What this does is - the hair dryer heats the oil, which heats the glue, making removal a breeze. Wash the oil off with washing up liquid mixed with water, and then wax the area afterward with wax on wax off.