Rare is the car that never gets embellished with stickers. Many are called bumper stickers but stickers are put on far more places than just bumpers. Windows are perhaps the second most popular place. And some cars have more than just one or two stickers on them. Some cars have dozens of stickers of all shapes and sizes and often a mixture of new and ratty old ones. Yup, a genuine mess.
So you just bought a used car that a good example of sticker overuse? Especially the ones that express alternative political points of view – like “It’s all about Benghazi”, for example. Or perhaps, you’d like to reboot the family car that your teenager has turned into a forum on environmental causes. Well, all this can be done. It just takes a little time and effort.
Here is a list of some of the items and tools that you may need to remove the stickers from your car. You may not need all of these items but take a quick look over the list just so you can get ready.
What you may need:
- Hair dryer
- Razor blade (if removing from glass)
- Sturdy plastic card (like an old credit card)
- Some clean rags or detailing towels
- Glass cleaning solution
- Tree sap remover solution
What to do:
1. Thoroughly clean the sticker and the surrounding area with the glass cleaning solution.
2. Plug in the hair dryer, turn the heat setting to hot and hold it just a few inches above the sticker.
3. Keep the hair dryer over the center area for a few seconds, making sure the air coming out is hot and then slowly move it around the rest of the sticker. You want to heat the edges of the sticker last.
4. After you’ve heated up the whole sticker, use the plastic card (credit card) at an angle to gently scrape up under it. If the sticker is hot enough, you will be able to slide the card under the sticker’s edge and peel it away. (If the sticker is on window glass, you can use a razor blade).
5. You may need to apply more heat but keep peeling the sticker until it is entirely removed.
6. Once the sticker is removed, you can repeat steps 3-4 to remove any sticky residue or remnants.
7. Apply a few drops of window cleaner onto a clean rag and remove any residue left.
You may have noticed that the list we provided included tree sap remover solution. If you are having trouble removing the last of the sticker residue, this may help.