If you’re buying used electronics, you might find one of these stickers on your device. If you remove it, you lose your right to return it, so don’t remove it until the return or warranty period is over.
When you peel it, it leaves behind little silver bits, and a lot of sticky, gummy glue. The best cleaner to remove the adhesive is Goo Gone. I’ll explain why, after the jump.
Goo Gone is a petroleum based cleaner that seems to have some citrus oil in it. It melts into the gooey pressure-sensitive adhesive used under stickers.
To remove the little silver bits and adhesive, put one drop of Goo Gone onto a clean rag, and gently wipe it onto the sticky glue. As the cleaner goes into the glue, it’ll come off.
Don’t put the Goo Gone onto the sticker glue. It just gets all over the place. It’ll work, but it’s messier.
Goo Gone works on normal stickers, too, and is especially good for paper stickers. You put one drop onto the sticker, and wait a minute or so. The paper and glue get soaked with the cleaner, and it peels right off. A little wipe down with a clean rag, and it’s as if there was never a sticker on there.
The cleaner also evaporates, so you don’t have too much oil left over on the device. The left over oil even gives plastic a little “shine”.
Since I’m talking “drops” of Goo Gone, you can probably guess what size to get: get the 2 ounce one. I have one, use it all the time, and I haven’t had to buy another one in months.
To make the bottle dispense single drops, do not peel off the foil cover that seals the bottle. Instead, take a small pin, and put a pinhole into the middle of the foil cover.
What about other cleaners, which are similar?
There are a few other cleaners I’ve used, and I like some of them. What I find with Goo Gone is that it’s the most gentle “fast” product out there. It doesn’t damage plastic, and it doesn’t melt dried paint (too much). Other cleaners will melt or haze some plastics, and some will do a great job of removing paint.
Goo Gone is perfect for gummy glue on plastic, glass, and metal.
It’s pretty good for glue on paint, but I would first try something gentler, like dishwashing liquid, first. Dishwashing liquid works on sticker glue, but it needs to soak in, and then cleaned up, so it’s more work.
Will it Work on Tape Adhesive Residue?
Yes. It works the same way.
What is in Gummy Sticker Glue?
I don’t know, but you can read the page for Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives at Wikipedia.
It appears to be a rubber or other substance that’s softened with a liquid chemical.
It’s like when you chew gum. It is the rubber and other hard chemicals mixing with your saliva that makes it into a sticky adhesive.
Is this writer getting paid by Goo Gone?
I wish. No. I’m just someone who uses it. I also started using those security stickers, and want to explain to people how to remove the glue.