Removing ugly stickers from your precious vinyl sleeves

[Pim]

I know some people really don’t care for the condition of their sleeves. I do like to keep them as neat as possible and if there’s one thing I really hate it’s ugly unremovable stickers. And with unremovable I mean the whole sleeve gets damaged as you’re trying to peel it off…. 
 

I tried something I learned from a YouTube video and it worked like magic I must say. The secret ingredient is lighter fuel. You need to soil the sticker for 3 minutes than carefully remove the stickers. As soon as you feel it don’t come off repeat the treatment. 
 

I managed to remove an ugly green sticker from my Noah Howard Live In Berlin LP without a trace

[HutchFan]

Thanks for this tip.   

 

[Niko]

Thanks indeed! I usually borrow my better half's hairdryer and then heat up the stickers before/during peeling and that works reasonably well... But I wouldn't say it's  like magic

[mikeweil]

Warm air ike from a hair dryer may work (put the record out, of course). Keep it at a distance for mild heat, until the glue melts.

Solvents may affect the printing on the sleeve.

Edited November 20 by mikeweil

[rostasi]

Yes! Ronsonol has been my regular "helper" for nearly 50 years.
It's possible to open the spout just enough (put it to your ear and
lightly squeeze the bottle as you slowly open the top and stop opening
the second you hear air whooshing) and dab it directly onto the sticker.

... or, alternatively, put a small amount on a Q-Tip and dab the sticker
(you may have to use a bit more due to the absorption of the cotton). 
Let it sit for 2 or 3 minutes and, usually, you won't even have to peel
it off - just slide it off the cover with your finger. Don't worry about
surrounding residue on the cover because it evaporate in minutes.

Edited November 20 by rostasi

[Pim]

44 minutes ago, Niko said:

Thanks indeed! I usually borrow my better half's hairdryer and then heat up the stickers before/during peeling and that works reasonably well... But I wouldn't say it's  like magic

That was my way to go as well but didn’t always had the desired effect. With the lighter fuel you’re able to get the glue residue as well. Definitely worth a try 👍

[Teasing the Korean]

Why would anyone want to remove Basil Wolverton art from an LP cover?

[BFrank]

On 11/24/2024 at 8:00 AM, Teasing the Korean said:

Why would anyone want to remove Basil Wolverton art from an LP cover?

Wow - I recently found a set of these stickers I collected when I was a kid. Don't know if they're valuable or not.

[Teasing the Korean]

6 hours ago, BFrank said:

Wow - I recently found a set of these stickers I collected when I was a kid. Don't know if they're valuable or not.

They are! 

[Big Beat Steve]

Haven't tried lighter fluid yet but I found that hot air from a hair drier works very well to soften the glue of the sticker enough so you can peel it off without pulling off chips of paper from cover surface at the same time.

However,  in recent months I was faced with the sticker problem in almost all of its embodiments. In August of last year my favorite local used record shop got in a huge jazz LP collection, and I bought quite a load from that collection over time (including 2 weeks ago at another clearout sale).
However, the previous owner had had the nasty habit of sticking a paper-based sticker almost the size of a letter address sticker (with the number of the record in his collection inscribed on it with felt tip pen) in an upper corner of each and every LP. And these stickers had aged rather poorly and differently over time (with no apparent link to the time they had been left on the sleeves, judging by the numbers).
On some the glue had dried and the stickers literally fell off, leaving just some whitish powdery residue on the sleeves (that scrapes off with your fingernail if you insist long enough). Some stickers peeled off nicely, leaving hardly any marks, whereas others (more stubborn ones) had to be warmed with a hairdryer or treated with a bit of water mixed with dishwasher fluid to come off well enough.
But some resisted any attempts at warming or treating with fluids. So the only solution (that would not damage the cover surface itself) I was able to come up with was to lightly wet the stickers with water and then rub their paper layer  off with my thumb. Primitive, and you have to insist yet be careful (particularly when it's a U.S. cardboard sleeve). But it eventually worked and just left some fairly invisible marks of almost-dried glue. Still figuring out how to get rid of these final remnants ...

[Teasing the Korean]

I was very vigilant - and successful - at removing price stickers from used LPs.  

But every once in a while, I will come across an LP with a sticker that I forgot to remove.  And I am always thrilled to find these, because many of these stores no longer exist. I wish now that I had left more of them intact.

But back in the day, my go-to for removing stickers was Goo Gone, but I did use lighter fluid at times.

That said, there is no chemical known to man that can possibly remove a Princeton Record Exchange sticker.  Nothing.  Those things stay on forever, whether you like it or not.

[Big Beat Steve]

10 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said:

But every once in a while, I will come across an LP with a sticker that I forgot to remove.  And I am always thrilled to find these, because many of these stores no longer exist. I wish now that I had left more of them intact.

 

I systematicalloy removed the price stickers too. But when I buy a secondhand one today that still has its "New record" price sticker (underneath the current secondhand sticker) from a local record shop (that I spent lots of money at from 1975 to its demise in the very early 2000s) I will leave it on too. For old times sake ...

And for much the same reason I also retained the price stickers from Dobell's in London (usually attached to the rear of the sleeve) that were still in place on some LPs I bought secondhand in London throughout the 90s. Reminds me of all the recods I was unable to afford there during my Easter Holiday stays in London in 1975 to 1977 when I was still in school.

[rostasi]

Many sticker adhesives are petroleum-based or contain synthetic rubber compounds, so that's why you need a remover that's also petroleum-based and a non-polar solvent. Butane has a low viscosity, allowing it to easily penetrate the adhesive layer and break it apart at a molecular level as well as high volatility that makes it evaporate quickly. Gasoline has the same quality, but it's best to stick with lighter fluid when doing this kind of thing.

[Big Beat Steve]

20 minutes ago, rostasi said:

Many sticker adhesives are petroleum-based or contain synthetic rubber compounds, so that's why you need a remover that's also petroleum-based and a non-polar solvent. Butane has a low viscosity, allowing it to easily penetrate the adhesive layer and break it apart at a molecular level as well as high volatility that makes it evaporate quickly. Gasoline has the same quality, but it's best to stick with lighter fluid when doing this kind of thing.

I've sometimes used a drop of lacquer thinners with the results you describe (easily breaking the adhesive layer apart). But you need to be extra careful in order to apply it only to a record sleeve surface that is not easily affected by contact with thinners. So I would not recommend this as a general solution.

[rostasi]

41 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said:

I've sometimes used a drop of lacquer thinners with the results you describe (easily breaking the adhesive layer apart). But you need to be extra careful in order to apply it only to a record sleeve surface that is not easily affected by contact with thinners. So I would not recommend this as a general solution.

Yes, but that's why you don't use lacquer thinners because they're far stronger than butane and
will attack the underlying material. Stick with butane - it's much gentler, but effective.

[JSngry]

[rostasi]

"my regular "helper" for nearly 50 years."

Edited November 27 by rostasi

[Eric]

Un-du

Amazon has it

[BFrank]

10 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said:

They are! 

Wow! Good to know!

[Teasing the Korean]

2 minutes ago, BFrank said:

Wow! Good to know!

Send me a PM!  I'd be curious to see which ones you have!

[Big Beat Steve]

22 hours ago, rostasi said:

Yes, but that's why you don't use lacquer thinners because they're far stronger than butane and will attack the underlying material. Stick with butane - it's much gentler, but effective.

I realize that and will remember your advice.

But it's just this: I DON'T smoke, but I do lots of my own repairs and restoration work on my cars, so guess which mineral oil-based fluid is most easily within reach when the idea to remove such a sticker nuisance hits you at the most unlikely moment.

(Just checked the last LP where I removed that sticker - and gluey-gooey layer underneath the sticker paper - with thinners. The spot would be nearly invisible if it hadn't been for my own impetuous attempts at peeling off the sticker BEFORE resorting to thinners - which resulted in two small spots where the top paper layer of the sleeve came off along with the sticker)

Edited November 28 by Big Beat Steve

[BFrank]

On 11/27/2024 at 3:01 PM, Teasing the Korean said:

Send me a PM!  I'd be curious to see which ones you have!

That means I have to find them again 😁

I'll try this weekend

[Gheorghe]

I never removed anything. I still have old LP´s with pricestickers having shiling instead of Euro, from the 70´s. 
But I never considered removing a thing that´s important for me. The music counts, the rest I think I am not even aware of. 

[Pim]

Well soon I've got a nice copy to test this method. I just ordered a copy of Charles Tylers 'Saga of the Outlaws'. In great condition but the sleeve is full of ugly library stickers. That's why I only paid 35 euros where EU based copies on Discogs go for 100 euro plus. But now of course the question is: will those stickers come off smoothly? If so I made a pretty sweet deal. If not i've probably paid for what it's actually worth....

[mjazzg]

1 minute ago, Pim said:

Well soon I've got a nice copy to test this method. I just ordered a copy of Charles Tylers 'Saga of the Outlaws'. In great condition but the sleeve is full of ugly library stickers. That's why I only paid 35 euros where EU based copies on Discogs go for 100 euro plus. But now of course the question is: will those stickers come off smoothly? If so I made a pretty sweet deal. If not i've probably paid for what it's actually worth....

€100!! Time to offload mine