removing stickers from (tiki) records

so why is it that record stores (this is you AMEOBA) put their prices for records right on the front of the cover so that there's a pesky "2.99" white or yellow sticker mucking up the beautiful picture?!?!?!

anyone have any techniques for removing said sticker without removing part of the album cover? (other than REALLY carefully...which hardly works)

Have you tried goo-gone? I use it alot but never on a album cover.

Here's my untested suggestion:
There is this great stuff called "Goo Gone" which you can get at any hardware store, or even Walgreens. I would try putting a bit on a Q-tip, and then apply it carefully to the sticker. Try to saturate the sticker without getting any excess on the album cover itself. Let it sit for just a minute to penetrate the sticker paper, then carefully rub the sticker off. The Goo Gone disolves the adhesive and if you're really careful about not using too much, it shouldn't do too much damage to the cover itself.

I haven't actually tried this, so you may want to try it on a less valuable cover first. Let us know if it works!

edit: looks like tikitatt beat me to it, so it must be a good idea! :)

[ Edited by: JenTiki 2008-03-10 18:13 ]

Good question Polynesiac but I think Goodwill invented the technique of putting stickers on someone's eye or forehead.

I sometimes use this stuff for cleaning film negatives (Remember those?) called "Film Cleaner" I don't know what the real chemical name is but I'll find out, it does fade the area slightly, although that's better than a tear.

Well, since I have a few LPs at home that are not frame-able, and I have some Goo Gone, I will actually give my suggestion a test run for you when I get home this evening and will post the results here. I wouldn't want you to ruin anything valuable based on my untested suggestion.

This is going to sound strange, but the best way I have found to remove sticker goo, is to repeatedly re-apply and remove the sticker over the goo mark. The adhesive will eventually transfer across to the label - works, but don't ask me why.

OOOooooo....goo gone! I didn't even think about that! thanks TT and Jen - that's a good idea. I'll try it too, tho I think I need to pick up some goo gone. let us know how it goes!

BB - sounds good! I like playing with chemicals!!! I figure a small darker spot would be better than that stupid sticker

Von - I agree with you! I've used that technique before too, but for some reason some record stores (like AMEOBA) use a sticker that bonds VERY well with the cover and ends up tearing a little of the cover off when you try and remove it.

Thanks for the ideas!!!!

[ Edited by: Polynesiac 2008-03-10 18:29 ]

Don't know if this will work on an album cover but, using a hair dryer on stickers to make them warm makes the adhesive gooey again. Works okay on glass not sure about paper though!

Tikisgrl

Results of the Goo Gone test:

Here is the test area of an old album cover (okay 1974 may not qualify as vintage, but still, I figure 34 years is old enough) before the test. Keep your eye on the circled area, and note that the cover already has some of the usual wear where the album inside put pressure on it when stored with other albums.

I then stuck two labels down using what's known as a "bone folder" (mine's plastic rather than bone, but it still sticks stuff down real good) to get good adhesion.

I then saturated a q-tip with the Goo Gone and applied it to the top sticker only. It penetrated immediately, so I didn't let it sit, for fear of actually damaging the cover. You can see my failed attempt at peeling off the bottom sticker using nothing but my fingernail. But the top sticker came off almost completely clean and in one piece. (You can see it rolled at the top of the picture.) However, there was one tiny spot where it pulled up some color where there was already some wear on the cover. That's what the red circle is highlighting. So I maybe should've let the Goo Gone penetrate just a bit more before peeling. There was a tiny bit of adhesive left on the cover, so I put a little more Goo Gone on a paper towel and not-quite-gently-enough rubbed it over the remaining adhesive, then removed all traces of the Goo Gone with a clean paper towel. Although it didn't darken the cover at all, I should've been a bit more careful with the removal of the remaining adhesive, because the rubbing did pull up just a bit more of the color. Fortunately, it looks like regular wear & tear, rather than a place where a sticker was.

I hope this has been helpful for you.

I've never heard of Goo Gone until now and have been using Ronsonol Lighter Fluid for years without a hitch. Most of the time you soak the sticker and it will nearly rub off without any residue or damage to the cover, unlike WD40 that often leaves stains.

tikisg - heat sounds like an interesting technique, I hadn't thought of that!

jen - thank you for the step by step - those were some knarly stickers you put on that cover and the goo worked very well! - I'll see how mine turn out!

Naga - lighter fluid...hmm that's interesting too. I also heard that the lighter fluid will shine records up nicely too. I may have to give that way a try as well.

I knew you peeps would have some great ideas - thanks everyone!!!!

the absolute BEST stuff for this is Bestine Rubber Cement thinner..this is a trick I learned LONG AGO when i was buying TONS of used vinyl--pre CD days when vinyl was a VIABLE COMMODITY and not just at thrift stores... and i HATED those ugly price tags ruining my PRECIOUS SCORES. It is probably gett-able at Michaels or other such craft stores--a little dab on a cotton ball and the stuff just dissolves AND it rarely affects the printed colors.
I have used it on the STICKIEST and WORST price tags and it is a miracle...the days of paste ups are pretty much gone so it is not as easy to get ; I just wished i had scored the couple of GALLON CANS my work had long ago that they threw out.

It might not be of help, but $1 stickers stay on here - for historical references.

[ Edited by: Kawentzmann 2008-03-11 10:49 ]

OK, this is going to be gross to some folks, but I learned this on the Record Collector's Guild, which I frequent often.....saliva. It's better than most chemicals. Lick the things...and rub with your thumb. Works great for me.

It looks like the price tag removal problem has been solved. So what about the other Thrift Store Record Dilemma - Removing of CRAYON?

Great ideas everyone and thank you all for your input!
I finally got off my butt and went to michaels to see what they had and what I could try - I looked at HOme DEPOT but all their cleaners seemed to strong and industrial and I assumed that they would burn through the entire record cover! Because Jen did such a great step by step with goo gone, I decided to try a few other techniques.

For both techniques I decided to remove the price tag to the point that it started to mess up the cover, so each record cover has a small peeled portion on them. I also used older records that do not have that glossy sheen on them (the coated records seem to not hold onto the sticker as strongly as the non-coated records)

For the first technique, I purchased this:

Here's a photo after trying to remove the sticker simply by peeling it. NOTE: the small damaged area under the peeled sticker:

These moist towelettes claimed they would remove paint and other solvents from tools and hands (maybe this will work for your martian antennas drawn on your records, bora boris?). It was only 2.99 or something, so I decided to give it a try. Here's the first progress shot:

these little puppies require quite a lot of scrubbing, but they do slowly eat away at the sticker. they seem to remove the sticker quite nicely, but the glue residue is still left behind and I used my fingers just to wipe that away. the chemical solvent on the towel didn't seem to mar the undamaged portion of the cover, however it did widen the part that was already damaged by trying to remove the sticker previously:

In conclusion, these towels worked pretty well, but required a little elbow grease and I would assume the harder I scrubbed, the more likely I would be to begin working into the record cover and cause damage. This may be the way to remove marker writing on records, however.

The next technique is the method that BB moondog suggested and I found it at Michaels for 9.99:

I once again lifted the sticker until it began to mar the surface of the record:

This stuff smells like it will work well, so I grabbed a q-tip, dunked in the bestine and moistened the sticker:

I moistened the sticker, let it air dry for a few seconds, then peeled the sticker right off!

The bestine seemed to have desintigrated the glue and allowed the sticker to be removed without any damage to the record cover, leaving no film or residue behind or a dark area where the sticker was. It didn't even worsen the damage to the cover I inflicted when I tried to originally peel off the sticker!

I think I've found my technique. THank you all once again for your input and feel free to post pictures of your techniques too - because (depending on how the record cover is made) they may work better on different types of record covers!

Nice work Polynesiac,

I'm convinced and my life just got a little easier.

Thank you also BB Moondog.

my pleasure..though its kinda sad that one of my main expertises in life is how to remove PRICE LABELS from a RECORD ALBUM COVER : P

On 2008-03-31 07:45, bb moondog wrote:
my pleasure..though its kinda sad that one of my main expertises in life is how to remove PRICE LABELS from a RECORD ALBUM COVER : P

Don't worry. We all have our talents...useless and otherwise. Just remember, one person's useless talent is another's solution to a frustrating problem. There will always be a practical application for any and all of your talents. One day, every one of them will come in handy!
Peace,
Peter

It doesn't work for all stickers, but I often try warming up the sticker with a hair dryer first. This will often loosen the adhesive and allow the sticker to peel off. Requires no solvents.

I would remove the record from the sleeve before doing this, of course. It works with stickers on many different kinds of surfaces and I usually try this before resorting to something else.

On 2008-03-10 18:30, Tikisgrl wrote:
Don't know if this will work on an album cover but, using a hair dryer on stickers to make them warm makes the adhesive gooey again. Works okay on glass not sure about paper though!

Tikisgrl

Looks like Tikisgrl beat you to this suggestion on page 1.