Learn how to get sticky residue off plastic. Don’t live with the remnants of price labels or glue residue on the items you buy – read out short guide and learn how to remove them yourself.
Your first step to a clean, residue-free surface is to remove the sticker (or what remains of it). If it won’t peel away with your fingernail, try to soften it up first.
Lay a damp cloth moistened with water on top of the sticker for several minutes to soak into the paper and soften it up. If that doesn’t do the trick, try white vinegar, acetone (nail polish remover), or mineral spirits.
In most cases, one of the above solvents will work wonders to soften up the sticker. Another thing you can try is steam. If you don’t have a steam-cleaner, boil some water in a kettle and use some of the steam to loosen the sticker. But be careful with that hot water!
Once the sticker is soft, you can scrape it away with your fingernail or a putty knife.
Once the sticker or label is gone, you might have to deal with a sticky adhesive residue. If so, use the same solvents mentioned above on a clean, disposable cloth to soften up and remove the sticky residue. You’ll likely find acetone to be the most effective, but since there are many types of adhesives used for labels, the process contains a bit of trial and error.
Once the residue is gone, wash the area with soap and water. Congrats - that sticky mess is gone for good!
As you can see, there are many ways to go about removing stickers from plastic. For a shortcut to the easiest way to remove stickers and residue, grab some Loctite Glue Remover.
This excellent remover will get glue off plastic and fabric, and it can also remove ink stains and even separate glued fingers. It has a thick, gel-like consistency, so it’s easy to work with and won’t drip or run.
When the time comes to repair a plastic item, you’ll need Loctite Super Glue All Plastics. This is no ordinary glue but a special formula that forms a resilient, invisible bond in just seconds. It works great with plastic, porcelain, metal, leather, wood, and paper too. The two-part system means you’ll need to apply an activator first and wait 60 seconds before applying the adhesive. This helps you join even hard-to-bond plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene.