When I was at school and had to purchase and display parking decals for my '67 VW van, they were sold with a clear plastic sleeve - you mounted the sleeve on your 'shield, slipped the parking sticker, backing and all, into the sleeve, and could thereby avoid sticking semester after semester of parking decals directly onto your glass.

After earning my B.S. degree (not to be confused with a "bs degree" haha), I even found more uses for that little plastic envelope on the windshield. It was STILL firmly attached when the microbus was retired with honors in the mid-1980's, after 250,000 miles of living life to the fullest. God bless 3M, this was before the Age of the Post-It Note.

Well, those were the good ol' days apparently. I now have 6 years worth of annual city stickers mounted in a (somewhat) neat row, right up the side of my windshield. Yeah, the instructions say it goes in the "lower left-hand corner"... Har har I haven't seen the lower left corner of my 'shield since about '97.

OK, to the point then. The thought of touching the windshield with a razor blade gives me shivers - that can't be the slick way to remove those old decals can it? Once I got very brave and applied some WD40 spray (don't laugh it's half my tool kit), thinking I could just pick it off in (gooey) pieces but nooo luck. The penetrating oil didn't penetrate, or maybe I didn't wait long enough. Maybe I should have trotted out the razor blade then?

In the interest of not appearing completely clueless, I did devise a trick where I'd put clear packaging tape over the entire decal, so it would "come off in one piece"... Brilliant plan yeah, but it's the "coming off" part that's giving me fits... If I need to literally scrape the things off with a blade, then someone needs to come hold my hand while I'm (trying to refrain from) mutilating my glass.

Thanks in advance for helping me see clearly, or at least peripherally,
TAtt

 

UHHH, Its glass, unless you have a "diamond tipped razor blade" you won't scratch it. Just use new blades and go at it parallel. Done it several times no scratches yet.

 

OK, just sign right here, please...

_________________________

Kidding I am, and thanks,
Tatt

 

Isopropol alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is a staple in a detailers cabinet. It will take the rest of the residue off. It's available at the pharmacy for 50 cents.

 

You can also try gently heating the sticker with a hair dryer or heat gun just enough to soften the glue and then just pull it off, it shouldn't take much. Be careful! and only use the low heat setting you don't want to create too much localized heat in the glass.....................mgg

 

Now I got a whole regimen to try. I appreciate the replies.

Tatt

 

I'm going to throw BradB a curve ball...

Isopropyl alcohol is NOT the best tool for adhesive removal. A much, MUCH better product is denatured alcohol. While isopropyl is a disinfectant, denatured is also known as schellac thinner, and will quickly and effecively remove almost all adhesives, as well as silkscreens (the airbag prints on the sun visors, for example) and gums. Bringing denatured alcohol anywhere near your paintwork is a bad, BAD idea!

 

If you don't want to use a razor blade, check the hardware stores. Look for a tool made out of plastic that is flat and has a tapered end. Try the paint prep, drywall, wallpapering section, you might be able to find a plastic putty knife or joint knife (kinda looks like a putty knife but is wider)....heck, check the kitchen and try using a teflon spatula.

 

You can also try looking at your local aquarium or pet supply store. I picked up a small plastic algae scraper for $1.49 the last time I got fish food, and it looks like it'd work great for scraping all sorts of stuff off of glass or acrylic.

Here's a picture of the one I got:
<http://www.goodspeedmotoring.com/images/lilchiz.jpg>

As you can see, it's got several differently-shaped curves for getting into tight spaces. The cheapest I saw it online was at:
http://www.beacongraphics.com/lil-chizler.html

BTW, I also finally got around to removing the airbag warning decals from my sun visors yesterday. I used 91% isopropyl alcohol to do it- the adhesive released without much fuss. Just apply a paper towel dampened with the alcohol for 5 minutes, and the label peels away in one stretchy, plasticy piece. I don't know if the 70% isopropyl rubbing alcohol would be as effective, but the 91% works fine. As far as denatured alcohol working better than isopropyl alcohol as a solvent, there may be two factors that contribute to this:

1) denatured alcohol is typically around 95% ethyl alcohol. There is very little residual water in it to dilute its strength.

2) the additives used to denature the alcohol (make it non-drinkable) may contribute to its solvent capabilities. I have seen some brands of solvent alcohol that use small amounts of acetone or other aggressive organic solvents as denaturants. This would also account for the fact that dentatured alcohol can damage painted surfaces, when distilled liquor does not. No, I haven't tested this on any of my cars!

(edited for spelling error)

 

I didn't mis-speak when I claimed to use Isopropyl alcohol. (It's good to be ready for surgery at all times! ) I agree Denatured alcohol is definetely a stronger solvent than Isopropyl. But it is also dangerous to many different plastics, rubbers and paints. It has it many good uses, too, but caution must be used. It's another staple in my cabinet, but isn't used as often.

While we're on the subject of solvents, a concours detailers trick we learned while showing the Jags is the use of Aerosol Brake Cleaner Spray. Have used it for years. You can remove stains in carpets, (In fact it's endorsed by Wilton Wool, Co.) it's really handy for engine cleaning, sticker removal, tar removal, embedded brake dust in wheels, etc. The best is Gumout brand and you must use the non-foaming variety.

 

Beware - I've not ventured to try in on my MCS, but I've experienced Isopropyl dripping on the black plastic on other cars where it left PERMANENT white spots. There are a number of citric acid based cleaners (e.g. Goo-Gone) that work great after the initial razor scrape. as noted above and don't hurt paint or plastic.

Don't be too sqeamish about razors on the windshield. Scape the sticker as best you can with a new razor blade and it will leave no marks once the "goo" is cleaned away.

Good luck!