How to Remove Stickers From Wood

With regular dusting and cleaning, wood furniture and surfaces are relatively easy to maintain. If you've purchased a wood piece with a sticker affixed to the surface or if someone has placed a sticker on a piece of wood furniture, removal may give you a little trouble if you simply try to peel the sticker off. Luckily, there are several easy tricks and hacks for removing adhesive from wood, and most of them require tools you probably already have around the house.

To determine the best way to remove stickers from wood, you'll need to consider the type of wood you're working with. If your wood is bare and untreated, you'll usually have a harder time removing the adhesive or the sticker paper from the surface than if you were working with laminate or finished wood.

For basic sticker removal, you'll need some sort of scraper, like a paint scraper or a credit card, a bucket of water, some mild detergent like dish soap, a cloth and some vinegar. In some tough cases, a bottle of Murphy Oil Soap can also come in handy. If you need to remove sticky adhesive from wood that's untreated or been painted, add a hair dryer, some tweezers, mineral spirits, vegetable oil and baking soda to the list above.

Once you have all of your supplies, you can start removing your sticker. The best way to remove stickers from wood is to work slowly and carefully and take your time. When working with laminate wood like a coffee table or dresser, start by cleaning the surface with a mix of one part water and one part vinegar and use a cloth to gently go over the sticker. If you've lifted the sticker from the surface but still need to remove adhesive from the wood, go over the area with some Murphy Oil Soap, rinse it with soap and water and allow it to dry.

When it comes to untreated or painted wood, you'll need to be careful not to damage the wood surface. One way to do this is to soften the sticky adhesive material with a hair dryer. Simply turn your hair dryer to the warm setting and move it over the material, holding it a few inches away from the wood.

Once the adhesive has softened, lift the sticker by pulling up on the corner with your fingers or some tweezers, or scrape it away from the surface with a scraper. Then, soak a folded paper towel in mineral spirits and press it onto the sticker residue for a couple of minutes. Rub the sticky material away, wipe the area with water and sprinkle baking soda onto the area to soak up any remaining residue before wiping clean. To prevent painted surfaces from chipping, try wiping the sticker away with a towel and vegetable oil before resorting to the hair dryer method.