Removing city sticker

My wife just got herself a new car and we're in the process of transferring state and city licenses before we donate the old car to a charity.

We've obtained transfer documents for the state plates and they've been moved to the new car (the charity will pick up the old car so it won't be driven platelessly in the street).

The problem, however, is the city sticker. The City of Des Plaines, in its great wisdom, needs to get the remains of the old sticker before they'll issue a new one for the low re-issue fee. The problem is getting the old sticker off the windshield.

The sticker is the self-adhesive type that comes on a paper (or something) sheet which is peeled off, revealing the adhesive. Usually the only time one needs to remove the sticker is when it's time to put on the next year's sticker, so the old one may be scraped off and destroying the old sticker is no problem.

This time, however, the remains of the old sticker need to be taken to the license office so they may view it. They particularly want to see the number of the old sticker.

Now I realize that there's no standard sticker adhesive, but I wondered if anyone has any ideas how to get the old sticker off in as close to one piece as possible. A few years ago I went through the same thing with my car and managed to get enough pieces off to identify the old sticker and to see the number, but I don't remember how I did it.

A neighbor has suggested heating the old sticker with a hair dryer until it peels off, but I'm a little concerned about the heat damaging the windshield.

Any suggestions will be gratefully received.

-Len

Reply to
LenS
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Hello Len, try to speak with a shop that replaces windshields they remove and replace same stickers everyday. Mike de Vito

Reply to
Michael C De Vito

Think like a theif. Get a single edge razor blade, go slow, and be real quiet.

Reply to
wws

Works esp. well when held by a small pair of vise grip pliers...s

Reply to
sdlomi2

Heat it with a heat gun or be darn darn darn careful with a propane torch very very lightly, then a a straight edge razor blade pressed flat in favor of the glass and the decal will come off in one piece. It really requires practice. Just be damn careful heating it if you use a torch. You only want to soften it, NOT cook it or crack the glass etc.

Reply to
ed

duh yeah or a hair dryer... ;) Again, only soften the material.

Would a digital photo of the sticker be of any use? I guess those can be faked so probably not.

Reply to
ed

The digital photo would be a good idea because the stickers go on the driver side of the windshield, right above the VIN tag. Unfortunately all the photo would prove is that there was a sticker on the original car.

The friendly folks at the license office want to know that (1) there's an old sticker AND (2) that it has been _removed_ from the car for which it was issued.

Thanks for the comments.

-Len

Reply to
LenS

Most windshield shops use glass cleaner - spray liberally and the sticker will fall off.

Reply to
mstg

Most windshield shops use glass cleaner - spray liberally and the sticker will fall off.

Reply to
mstg

First try soaking it in water - that should do it. Otherwise 409 or a similar cleaner will soften the glue, but you might end up with a mess. Take a digital photo beforehand if you are worried.

Reply to
John S.

If this is their requirement, and the adhesive is not removable, then they should be willing to have someone accompany you out to the car and watch the sticker being scraped off. Then, provide you with a temporary certificate so you can legally drive the car to the new owners.

-- Email reply: please remove one letter from each side of "@" Spammers are Scammers. Exterminate them.

Reply to
Doug Warner

A technique that I used to remove and save many different window stickers was to tape two layers of clear packing tape over the sticker, trim the tape to the edge of the sticker, then use a sharp, clean razor blade to separate the sticker from the glass. The tape keeps the sticker fully intact and gives you a solid edge to pull on while using the razor.

JazzMan

Reply to
JazzMan

I've had good luck with "Scrapper's Solution" in getting tough labels off of things.

Reply to
ebataitis

try lifting the edge a little then use a small amount of petrol [gas to dissolve the adhesive NO SMOKIN

Reply to
gary cypris

before and after photos??

irax.

LenS wrote:

Reply to
Iraxl Enb

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