I applied one of those stickers that identifies the town from which you hail to the rear bumper of my car. It’s an oval, black and white thing with a couple of letters on it, imitative of what I saw on cars when I traveled to Europe once. Theirs identify their country.
Trouble is, I’ve moved, and I can’t get the damned thing off my car. I mean, I can’t even begin to get a purchase on it. I need to get it off with no, or a minimum, of damage to the paint.
No way I’m taking a scraper to this thing. I’ve also considered chemical solvents such as “Goo-gone,” but am not sure how these might affect the paint. Also, this is, I guess, a pretty high quality sticker. I think solvents need to be able to soak into the material.
If I could get one little bit of it started, I’m pretty sure I could pull the thing off of my car.
Oops, posted too fast. Should have read OP’s message more thoroughly.
Goo Gone ought not to affect your paint. We’ve used it on paint, wood, and glass. If you’re in doubt, put a sticker on the inside of your trunk, and test Goo Gone on it.
Test mineral spirits or acetone on an area. On good paint, they remove other paint and stickers, but don’t harm the paint. Wax and buff when done, because whatever you use will degrade the wax you had on there.
Tar and Bug remover is available in U.S. auto stores – under just that name-- as well.
Home remedies include the Goo Gone (safe), or vinegar, or alcohol, combined with heat (but be careful not to cook the paint!)
If it’s been there for a long time, you might find a dark spot where the sticker prevented the paint from fading. No easy fix for that except chosing a new sticker.
Well, I don’t own a hair dryer, so I just slopped on the WD-40 until enough of it made it in through one edge that I was able to get hold. Then, I kept applying it to the peeled edge, little by little, until I had it off, no apparent damage to the paint. Took about ½ hour total.
I’m not sure this chemical works for bumper stickers, but it is better than Goo Gone for generally sticky stuff. However, it is no longer available, I’m sure, and you will know why when I give the product name: 3M Thermo-Fax Belt Cleaner.
It was sold by 3M to clean rubber belts and rollers in Thermo-Fax machines (if you remember those, you qualify as an old-timer). I would sure like to know the chemical formula so when my 30-year-old supply runs out, I can continue to remove sticky residue that stymies others.
The stuff smells a lot like rubbing alcohol, but seems to disolve stuff that isopropyl doesn’t. It is very thin (thinner than the Goo Gone formula), has a pink tint, evaporates quickly and leaves very little residue behind. I suspect the pink tint is an added colorant and the basic chemical is something common and generic, but I can’t be sure. 3M’s product number is 34-5090-3013-5. Anyone know what this is?
If it was the same as many other rubber belt and roller cleaners from the past, it was trichlorethylene. Its no longer available in the U.S. I ran across some in a warehouse when I worked for a copier company. Because it can go boom, the local fire dept had to come pick it up
Just to confirm that it is trichloroethylene. Is it in a metal container? If so, does the container always appear very clean and shiny? When you open the container can you see the vapor sliding down the sides? If the answers are yes, its likely trich, although there may be other halogenated solvents out there, I just don’t know what they are.
Its boom/flash factor is unpredictable because of its volatility. It is also very bad from people parts like lungs and skin.
If you happen to spill it on yourself, you’ll get a haz-mat team, and you’ll leave where ever you are naked, well, in tybex, but whatever clothing you had on, you won’t be seeing again.
First aid for skin is flush with full running water for at least 20 minutes then go for a ride in the shiny loud truck.
If it catches fire, its hard to control with water. Use dry chem, or CO[sub]2[/sub]
My husband has been a Haz-mat spec for 8 years. When I found about 4 ounces in the warehouse, he was ready to call a full team in and shut down the neighborhood. I told him I’d leave it where it was and we’d call the local fire guys. The only way he’s go for it was if I left the property right then.
The above information comes from a Haz-Mat textbook he has here.
It is in a metal container which is slightly rusty (corroded?) and discolored outside, shiny inside. (It’s not so degraded that it is likely to leak in my lifetime.) As far as seeing vapor sliding down the sides, I took a flashlight to look, but the cap is small and I can’t really tell. I don’t think so.
As far as this mystery chemical, every time I clean off something (not often), I get some on my fingers; I don’t even try not to. No problems yet, and I don’t think I will start worrying now. I’ll leave the shiny truck to someone else, but thanks for the advice.
