OT: best way to get stickers off a guitar?

[vseriesamps]

does anybody have the secret? a friend gave me a guitar and I want to get his stickers off of it

thanks team
K

[Sic]

nail polish remover, works like a charm...

always test it on the back side or under the pickguard first... to make sure it won't take paint off.

if the paint is fine, just take a piece of paper towel, get it wet with the nail polish remover, and rub it over the sticker... it might take a little bit, but it comes off fine

RESIST USING A RAZOR... RAZOR = BAD

[niftydog]

you can buy "label remover" spray. It soaks into the label, dissolves the glue and the sticker peels right off. Still have to clean up a bit afterwards but it's a hell of a lot easier than doing it dry!

whatever you use, test it first!!!!

[ryanscissorhands]

Once again, TEST, TEST, TEST! Stickers are superior to large holes in the paint, whihc you will then need to cove with a sticker.

But I also know that a little WD-40 can dissolve some nasty adhesives as well. Kind of gunks it up, and has to be cleaned afterwards with something like nailpolish remover anyway, but if nothing else works, go for it.

[SirPoonga]

if you are dealing with a plastic coated body you can use skin so soft, let it soak then take off with a damp rag.  But I wouldn;t do that on wood since it's oil.

[GreenEye]

Believe it or not, peanut butter works great for getting off the remains of stickers on most things, once most of the sticker has been pulled off manually, and that fuzzy/sticky stuff remains.  Dab a rag in a jar to get a little bit on it, and work in a circular motion.

Also, don't forget the trick of using a part of a sticker you pulled up to grab other parts still stuck with a dabbing motion.  If it has some stick left, it will pull up a lot of extra crap.

[Paul Perry (Frostwave)]

GooGone?
but, like everyone says, test it somewhere first!!!

Or try butter (personally, I wouldn't EAT butter- or indeed margarine- but, butter is great as a gentle solvent for goops).

[Toney]

Woah there horsey, I said woah!!!!!!

First of all establish what the guitar is finished with.
If by any chance its nitrocelulose you will be a very sorry unit if you hit it with any kind of solvent type cleaner.
If its a solid body with a standard plasticky finish you should be fine with
goo remover type products, you can try eucalyptis oil -works like a charm. But whatever you use, try to gently clean off the cleaner as soon as its done its job. A damp slightly soapy cloth should be fine.
Slowly is the key word here....good luck!!

[The Tone God]

Nailpolish remover is just actone with perfume. Actone is a fairly strong solvant that maybe more then you need and could take your finish off. Goo Gone is a bunch of different solvants, including actone, mixed together so that might not be a safe better either.

First try water and a rough rag. If the stickers are paper based you can remove the paper layer with this and have a better chance of getting to the adhesive. If its plastic you could still get that label layer off.

Next up I would go to lighter fluid/naphtha. Next methyl hydrate/mineral spirts, then tulene/paint thinner, then maybe actone. You could also get away with trying to scrap it off with say credit card edge.

Andrew

[Ge_Whiz]

Try a limonene-based sticky-stuff remover, sold for the purpose. Limonene smells like citrus fruits and won't harm the finish.

[vanhansen]

Get some trumpet oil and use that.  Peel the sticker off as much as you can and then put the trumpet oil on the leftover sticky stuff.  Let it soak for a minute and then wipe it off with a soft rag (guitar cloth or old cotton t-shirt).  I used that stuff many times cleaning guitars and never had a problem.  Once you have it clean, give it a good polishing and you'll never know there was a sticker there.

[cd]

What happened to good old fashioned Elbow Grease (tm)

[petemoore]

Mayo...
 I sure would think twice about 'adding' acetone to the chemical composition of a guitar's finish.

[vanhansen]

What happened to good old fashioned Elbow Grease (tm)

Trumpet oil still needs a little elbow grease but it won't harm the finish, not matter what it is.  That's been my experience anyway.

[jason h]

Lighter fluid  works great for taking stickers of any kind off. It is also safe to use on most finishes.

jason h

[Darren N]

Little known rock fact:

Jimi was just trying to get those stickers off his guitar!

[petemoore]

Lighter fluid  works great for taking stickers of any kind off. It is also safe to use on most finishes.
 I think this is true, especially if you limit the time of exposure, using it and elbow grease for a short time probably won't cloud the finish...[ ]

jason h

[jayp5150]

Did anyone say Denatured Alcohol?  Safe for the finish (used it to take the annoying dealer sticker off my car!).  Just wash it off directly afterwards.  Sometimes nail polish can haze the paint/clear coat.

[Mark Hammer]

I picked up a cheap fretless bass this summer that someone had, uh, "decorated".  I tried alcohol then acetone, and met with limited success.  Varsol put me over the top, though.  Came off easy.

It may be wise, though, regardless of what you have to use, to get yourself some buffing compound in preparation for restoring the lustre to the finish after all the goopy stuff is removed.  Removing stickers does not remove all traces of there having BEEN stickers.

[RDV]

Dyn-O-Mite!!!



RDV