# Sefely removing bumper stickers from car

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [July 16, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704 "2013-07-16T22:19:10Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/1 "2013-07-16T22:19:10Z")

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I have a 2004 Honda Accord(Blue) and I think the previous owner put on 3-5 bumper stickers probably in 2008-2010. How do I get them off without hurting the finish?

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### Author: ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/2 "2013-07-16T22:22:52Z")

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Try heating with a hair dryer, while pulling from a corner.

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### Author: ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/3 "2013-07-16T22:27:34Z")

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I’ve used WD40 to remove stickers from things.

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### Author: ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/4 "2013-07-16T23:57:52Z")

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If the hair dryer isn’t effective enough there are products you can buy specifically for this. Do a search on ‘ **adhesive remover** ’, they’re oil-based solvents which will dissolve the glue (soap & hot water will do absolutely nothing).

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### Author: ![the\_O](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@the\_O](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_O)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/5 "2013-07-17T00:59:37Z")

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WD is cheap & effective.

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### Author: ![icbm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/2acd7d/32.png) [@icbm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icbm)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2013, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/6 "2013-07-17T18:19:16Z")

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I’ve used an electric pressure washer aimed at the edge of a sticker to quickly peel off the paper / plastic with the message on it, then goo-gone, wd-40, or similar to slowly work away at the remaining adhesive. Goo-gone’s advantage over wd-40 is it makes your hands smell like citrus rather than petroleum.

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### Author: ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)
#### Post date: [July 17, 2013, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sefely-removing-bumper-stickers-from-car/663704/7 "2013-07-17T18:21:24Z")

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I used a razor blade and lighter fluid to get mine off. If the bumper is plastic, the razor blade method can be challenging as it tends to dig into the plastic.