How to remove sticky residue from granite?

Hi guys,

My kitchen counter is made of granite or some stone. Few weeks ago, I used super sticky double sided tape to secure some protective plastic covering on it.

To my disappointment, the tape was a poor choice as it wasn’t able to stick to the plastic. The protective plastic cover could not be secured to the counter top.

Anyway, so I have 2 questions.

  1. The super sticky tape didn’t work and I need to remove it. Although it couldn’t stick to the plastic, the residue remains super sticky. How do I remove it easily??

  2. What could I use to secure plastic sheet to granite? I wouldn’t want a permanent type of stick s I would like to replace the plastic sheet a year later. For example, any specialised double sided tape that can secure plastic to stone?

Use a razor blade to get the residue off the granite.

WD-40

There is a commercial product called “goo-gone” that will dissolve most sticky stuff.

Goo Gone, is just oil.

Just put some vegetable oil on a paper towel…voila, wipes right up. Now use a soapy cloth to remove residual oil! Done!

Goo gone or goof off.

Goof-off is great stuff. (Goo-gone is different, and nowhere near as good, imho). Test an out-of-the-way spot first.

Rubbing alcohol can work pretty well too - not as quick, but gentler.

Rather than taping a plastic cover to it you could put down an adhesive plastic like this.

Mineral Spirits. It seems I run into sticky residue all the time. I keep a small bottle of this stuff in the Kitchen just for such occasions. Clean up with soap and water.

Lighter fluid would also be safe for granite.

I use kerosene for cleaning granite, but from the sound of it you may have used silicone tape and that requires letting the glue soak in in a solvent for a while and then scraping it off.

Why are you taping a plastic covering over your granite countertop? Do you not like having granite?

(Granite is pretty stable, I would try dissolving the goo with whatever solvents I had around. Nail polish remover, rubbing alcohol, oil, gasoline, whatever. One at a time! Whatever you use, if it’s volatile, make sure your windows are open. When you are done, let as much evaporate as will evaporate, then wash well with soap and water.)

It is curious that you want to cover the granite with plastic. I’d think anything that will hold the plastic in place will leave residue if you remove the plastic, and substances left there for a long time will become more difficult to remove. A light coating of spray contact cement like 3M 77 should have enough hold to last a year, but it will leave some residue. If the plastic is polyethylene as used in most cutting boards nothing much is going to stick well to it, you just need to coat the entire surface and make sure the edges are flat against the granite to keep it from lifting up. There are granite glue formulations available but they would be overkill and very difficult to ever remove, and very nasty stuff too that aren’t available in every state.

Oh I love the granite! Just wanted to protect it with transparent clear plastic. In case of stains or scratches.

I still have a small tin can of 3M belt cleaner, sold 40 years ago to clean Thermofax rubber belts. (Thermofax was an early, pre-Xerox, low-volume duplication method.) It is a near-colorless liquid that reminds me of alcohol, with a light pink tint. It has been the very best chemical I have ever found to remove sticky residue, and the least damaging to other materials like countertops.

According to this data sheet, 3M belt cleaner is 90% Isopropanol, 10% a silicone lubricant, and 5% a wetting agent. That’s a little surprising, since isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol in the typical 70% solution at the drugstore never seemed to work nearly as well. So go figure.

I’m not sure what plastic it is. It’s like the plastic wrap for books except a little thicker.