# Is There a Safe Way to Remove a Bumpersticker From a Car?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 18, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992 "2004-06-18T04:51:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/1 "2004-06-18T04:51:35Z")
“Safe” meaning safe to the car’s paint. Well?
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/2 "2004-06-18T05:16:46Z")
I suppose the answer depends on how long it’s been applied, and whether it’s sitting on top of actual paint, or the clear coat finish layer, and how oxidized the paint/clear coat layer is.
Just so I’m clear on this, this “bumper sticker” is not on the vinyl bumper or a rear window, but is actually affixed _directly_ to the cars paint?
I’v had good luck with citrus based “Goo Gone” as product that will dissolve glues but not plastics. WD40 will kind of sort of act the same way as a glue dissolver that will not hurt most plastics, but it’s got a few of solvents so there might be a plastic out there it will damage.
If it’s actually directly on the paint you might be out of luck, but you can try sloowwwllyy peeling off a corner of the sticker, and using Goo Gone applied with a Q tip to the glue-paint junction, and see if it will slowly make the glue release as you gently pull on the sticker. Test GG (or any solvent) on an unobstrusive part of the paint before using to see if it damages the paint.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/3 "2004-06-18T07:35:54Z")
I’ve heard that warming the sticker gently with a hair dryer can help to make it easier to remove.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/4 "2004-06-18T10:00:39Z")
Another vote for a hairdryer. Then, get someone else to help you, and while one person gently peels away one corner, the other can use a length of dental floss to “saw” underneath and gradually remove the sticker.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/5 "2004-06-18T12:09:53Z")
Helpful hint–
Before applying a bumber sticker, go down to one of those shops that make magnetic signs that attach to car doors.
Ask for a piece of magnetic material the same size as the bumper sticker, & apply the sticker to _that_.
I’ve never heard of anybody stealing one of those signs, & it’s cheap & easy to do.
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/6 "2004-06-18T12:28:48Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#):
>
> Helpful hint–
>
> Before applying a bumber sticker, go down to one of those shops that make magnetic signs that attach to car doors.
>
> Ask for a piece of magnetic material the same size as the bumper sticker, & apply the sticker to _that_.
>
> I’ve never heard of anybody stealing one of those signs, & it’s cheap & easy to do.
Not a bad idea. However, it does have some limitations. A lot of modern cars have plastic bumpers (I have no idea why, to me a bumper should be able to bump things at low speed without taking damage) and thus the magnet won’t work.
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### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/7 "2004-06-18T14:51:21Z")
What, that “Bush/Cheney” sticker not seem like such a hot idea now? 😃
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### Author:  [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/8 "2004-06-18T15:14:55Z")
Who cares if you fuck up the paint? “Shit Happens.”
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### Author:  [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/9 "2004-06-18T15:21:33Z")
I don’t have bumper stickers, but for the stickers that we’re required to stick on the windshield, Johnson’s Baby Oil works very well.
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### Author:  [@PaulFitzroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulFitzroy)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/10 "2004-06-18T15:23:05Z")
I used WD-40 to do it a few days ago. Worked very well.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/11 "2004-06-18T15:27:18Z")
Try one of those orange-citrus based solvents. They work very well on glues and usually don’t harm surfaces.
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### Author:  [@HoldOnThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoldOnThere)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/12 "2004-06-18T16:30:33Z")
If all else fails, you can drive the car into something and let the insurance company put a new bumper on. :rolleyes:
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### Author:  [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/13 "2004-06-18T19:20:43Z")
WD-40 does a nice job of removing vinyl sticker residue from car paint. Apply some to a soft cotton cloth (something textured like an old t-shirt, to cut down on the lint) and buff at the residue. You shouldn’t have to scrub very hard. Once you’ve gotten all the visible residue, wash the area with with the car wash product of your choice.
If the sticker was applied directly to the paint, there could be some problems with fading–you might see a vague outline of the sticker. A car with a clear coat finish shouldn’t have this problem.
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### Author:  [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)
#### Post date: [June 18, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/14 "2004-06-18T19:29:38Z")
Peanut butter. Spread the PB over the sticker and let it sit over night. The oils in the PB will soften the glue and it will wipe off.
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### Author:  [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/15 "2004-06-19T00:09:09Z")
> [@Reeder](#):
>
> Peanut butter. Spread the PB over the sticker and let it sit over night. The oils in the PB will soften the glue and it will wipe off.
…or a racoon will lick it off, and come around tomorrow night for more.
😃
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### Author:  [@Ashkicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashkicker)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/16 "2004-06-19T00:50:06Z")
I vote for the hair dryer trick. I bet it will work. I use that technique when trying to remove unwanted surgeon general stickers off cigar boxes. It works great and doesn’t take the paint with it. Heat the area well and slowly peel from one corner to another. Hope it works for you.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2004, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/17 "2004-06-19T14:15:11Z")
> [@asterion](#):
>
> Not a bad idea. However, it does have some limitations. A lot of modern cars have plastic bumpers (I have no idea why, to me a bumper should be able to bump things at low speed without taking damage) and thus the magnet won’t work.
Bumpers are made of soft flexible plastic (or, equivalently, stiff rubber) precisely so they _can_ bump into things without sustaining permanent damage.
In the old days before the Feds madated so-called “10mph bumpers” (later “deregulated” down to 5mph), every time a car struck anything you’d end up with a dent in the shiny chrome bumper. And often the chrome plating then flakes off and rust begins. SO you had to get it repaired promptly.
The plastic ones were a direct effort at consumer protection by providing a bumper that actually achieved its goal of taking a minor impact without requiring expensive repairs afterwards.
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### Author:  [@olefin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/olefin)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-safe-way-to-remove-a-bumpersticker-from-a-car/250992/18 "2004-06-19T18:41:47Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> What, that “Bush/Cheney” sticker not seem like such a hot idea now? 😃
I’ve had my Bush/Cheney bumper stickers since last year… they are on the back glass. 🆒