HOW TO: Remove Stickers from Books

[Daghain]

This is probably a stupid question, but how the hell do you get a "sticky" sticker off a paperback without damaging it? I bought a copy of The Colorado Kid at the local used bookstore (this was a new copy) and although the one on the front came off with no problem, the one on the back is a sticky mother and will only come off in pieces, and leaves a residue behind. If I'd known that I would have purchased it on Amazon (no sticker!) but since I have the book I'd like to see if I can get the annoying sucker off. Suggestions?

[Brice]

Tear the book cover around the sticker. Or better still fire will get it off. Gasoline works too. Or Draino....just dont wash it off the sticker will be gone in no time.

[Daghain]

Thanks, Brice. That's a lot of help. :lol:

[Brice]

It will also get rid of those pesky words on the paper. :rofl:


Seriously, there are ways. I just can't think of them off the top of my head.

[Daghain]

Well, at least you got me to laugh. :D

[Brice]

Glad I could help. :dance:

[Kevin]

The only thing I can think of is a hair dryer. Crank up the heat and melt the glue. That shouldn't harm the book, at least I dont think so...:unsure:

[sarajean]

lighter fluid usually works really well. just dip a soft cloth in some, and hold it over the sticker. this will reduce the integrity of the gum. you can slowly peel it off. if there's any sticker residue left over, use the cloth with lighter fluid to gently rub it away.

[Daghain]

I hadn't thought of that. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks!

[Sai Joshua]

I just use hot water and a washrag, just don't over wet the rag and then make sure you wipe any excess moisture off quickly. Most paperbacks have a waxy substance on the cover anyway, so you have a little time to get something off is you spill it.

[Storyslinger]

I still like Brices Idea

[thecollector]

There's a product called "Goo-Gone" that's available at stores like target, walmart, etc. I wouldn't use it on a dustjacket, but it should be OK on paperback covers, as they're coated with a plasticky material.

Don't spray on the book itself, spray the stuff onto a paper towel and then rub that on the cover.

Hope that helps,



Tomas

[Daghain]

Oh, I've heard of that stuff. I'll have to see if I can find some. Thanks!

[Randall Flagg]

In order of least dangerous I would say

Blow dryer.
Gentle rubbing with a dry thumb of residue left over. Often it will ball up and come off the book.
SMALL amounts of Goo Gone, as SKCollector described using it.

[Matt]

This should be a candidate for the "how to" forum. :lol:

[Daghain]

Yeah, I can't imagine I'm the only person who's ever had this problem. :lol:

[jhanic]

I agree with Randall Flagg.

John

[Daghain]

I hadn't thought of a blow drier. Hmmm...

[Kevin]

The only thing I can think of is a hair dryer. Crank up the heat and melt the glue. That shouldn't harm the book, at least I dont think so...:unsure:


I hadn't thought of a blow drier. Hmmm...

:orely:

[Matt]

You said "hair dryer" not "blow dryer" :lol:

[Daghain]

See?

It's been a very long day. :lol:

Watch me try it and set the damn book on fire. :rofl:

[Cutter]

I use a product called un-du adhesive remover

Just do a search on google and you'll get a bunch or responses. I love the product it works fantastic with removing stickers, and I've been using it for a couple of years. If you are careful it'll even remove price tags that are on the first page (paper).

Anyway if you look at a picture it has a lip which you use to scrape the price tag. I use this on used books bought at local stores and after using this product you'll never notice the sticker was ever there. I highly recommend it!

[Daghain]

I've never heard of that!

*skips off to look*

[Storyslinger]

Wow, that sounds great

[Daghain]

Update:

Tried the Goo-Gone (because I happened to be in Home Depot and saw some on the shelf) and the sticker came off with no problem, and as far as I can tell no visible damage to the book.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

ETA: I DID put a piece of plastic between the back cover and the rest of the book, so I wouldn't get the pages wet. Put on the Goo Gone with a soft cloth, rubbed gently, waited a minute or so, and picked that sucker right off. Took a damp soft cloth and wiped the residue off. The back cover looked wet around the edges, but once it dried, I could not see any visible damage anywhere. Total score! :D

[Randall Flagg]

I went ahead and moved this thread to the Collecting Tutorials.
I aslo changed the name to Sticker Removal Tips.

[Patrick]

Update:

Tried the Goo-Gone (because I happened to be in Home Depot and saw some on the shelf) and the sticker came off with no problem, and as far as I can tell no visible damage to the book.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

:nana: Glad you found a solution, Daghain.

[Patrick]

I went ahead and moved this thread to the Collecting Tutorials.
I aslo changed the name to Sticker Removal Tips.
Thanks, Jerome. I changed the name slightly to fit the theme of the subforum.

[Randall Flagg]

Thanks, Jerome. I changed the name slightly to fit the theme of the subforum.

I don't like that.
The names are too uniform and make too much sense.:clap:

[Matt]

:lol:

I'm glad I finished reading that post

[Patrick]

:lol: (at Jerome and at Matt)

[Cutter]

I just saw this forum. Great idea, all three threads are very helpful!

[Matt]

Yeah, I totally love this thing.

I am hoping we can come up with some other relevant threads to stick in here.

[Sir_Boomme]

my 2 cents... always worked well for me.

a small amount of rubbing alcohol on a rag, then gently rub the area. takes glue,dirt, etc off without harming the cover. the alcohol then evaporates leaving no smell or greasy spot like goo sometimes does. the higher the alcohol content the better- rubbing alcohol works, but the higher grade stuff used to clean phonograph needles is better (i'm a part-time dj so that's what i use).
when i worked at safeway in the early 80's, when all the grocey items were still priced with stickers or ink...we did price changes using hairspray to remove the stickers and ink. hairspay is mostly alcohol...which is why this worked, and where i got the idea to try it on my books.
works great and i personally have had no problems doing it this way.

ooops...that was more than 2 cents... i need change.

[Randall Flagg]

when i worked at safeway in the early 80's, when all the grocey items were still priced with stickers or ink...we did price changes using hairspray to remove the stickers and ink.

Back when we used to price mark things. The good old days. I still remember marking frozen food with a Garvey, and the extra heavy ink for frozen stuff.

[Daghain]

I was worried about the Goo Gone ruining the book. Putting a piece of plastic between the cover and the pages kept the pages themselves from getting wet, and I didn't see any residue.

I will say, though, I have found 1001 uses for that stuff. I just got a bunch of RTA furniture that is all labeled with little stickers so you know which piece goes where, and it took them right off, no residue. :D

[Sir_Boomme]

when i worked at safeway in the early 80's, when all the grocey items were still priced with stickers or ink...we did price changes using hairspray to remove the stickers and ink.

Back when we used to price mark things. The good old days. I still remember marking frozen food with a Garvey, and the extra heavy ink for frozen stuff.

i had the fastest marker gun in the west... and nobody was faster with a set of price sticks than me. Frozen food sucked though.. would always have blue hands by the time a truck was marked/stocked.
wasn't the advent of scanners great..... until they eliminated my job.:arg:

[ATG]

I find that my a sliver of pine works best.

[herbertwest]

I've just recieved Frank Darabont's book... unfortunately, (as i wanted the cheapest book possible) it is an ex-library copy, and that includes, you know the godamms stickers and the worst is, the anti-theft stuff...

any tips for getting rid of it?

[carlosdetweiller]

I've just recieved Frank Darabont's book... unfortunately, (as i wanted the cheapest book possible) it is an ex-library copy, and that includes, you know the godamms stickers and the worst is, the anti-theft stuff...

any tips for getting rid of it?

Everyone probably has their favorite technique, so I'll bet you get lots of answers.

I start with a hair dryer on medium heat. Oftentimes the heat loosens the glue underneath the sticker so that you can carefully peel it off.

I've had a lot of luck with wallpaper paste remover. You can get it at any paint store. I just saturate a cotton ball with it and carefully rub until the sticker is gone. So far I have never damaged a dust jacket doing that and been able to remove most all of the stickers I have tried it on.

[herbertwest]

thanks for those answers!

[bast_imret]

What about on dust jackets? It seems like most of the responses thus far were for paperback books.

I've got a 1st Edition copy of New Spring (Wheel of Time series) that I picked up recently on the cheap at a Borders in their clearance section. But being a clearance book, it's got this large 2" diameter spot of old sticker residue where someone peeled off a large promo sticker at some point, and it now appears to have become a permanent fixture on the jacket.

Now the Wheel of Time DJ's are of a very high gloss variety, so I think I can be a little more aggressive with this. Thoughts?

[carlosdetweiller]

What about on dust jackets? It seems like most of the responses thus far were for paperback books.

Now the Wheel of Time DJ's are of a very high gloss variety, so I think I can be a little more aggressive with this. Thoughts?

Wallpaper paste remover. Get it at your local paint store (like a Sherwin Williams). Pour a small amount on a cotton ball and start rubbing gently at first and then a little harder as you become more confident that you aren't hurting anything. It will take several minutes but I think it will eventually work. I have used this technique many times including removing library stickers from CARRIE dust jackets, etc. It has not failed for me yet.

[bast_imret]

Thanks Bob, I'll keep an eye out for some.

[SkippyD023]

Has any tried, and if so, have any luck removing stickers from the inside face of the front board. I picked up several books that have a "From the library of..." sticker inside the book and I am trying to come up with a way to remove it with little to no damage to the board. At first look the glue seems to be holding pretty well, I can't just peel it off. any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Randall Flagg]

Has any tried, and if so, have any luck removing stickers from the inside face of the front board. I picked up several books that have a "From the library of..." sticker inside the book and I am trying to come up with a way to remove it with little to no damage to the board. At first look the glue seems to be holding pretty well, I can't just peel it off. any suggestions would be appreciated.
First off, try any method on a worthless book.

[Tommy]

I wish Bob was still around. I'd like to ask him how he figured out the wallpaper paste remover trick. I have a bit of background in chemistry and it seems like something a chemist would think to do ...

[herbertwest]

I will need to share some close pictures later on, but.... any tips to get rid of library stickers that are under plastic, that seems thermically stuck on the covers?
Is that even possible?

[Br!an]

I will need to share some close pictures later on, but.... any tips to get rid of library stickers that are under plastic, that seems thermically stuck on the covers?
Is that even possible?

The pics might help.

[Herbie_Marsten]

You can also cover the residue with scotch tape