I am going to use some plastic bottles that used to hold calcium supplements as screw and nail holders in my fastenings cabinet. Although I know this is not really necessary, for esthetic reasons I would like to remove the paper labels from the bottles.
The paper comes off easily enough, but I am having a hard time removing the glue. Soap and water do nothing as does rubbing alcohol. Finger nail polish remover (ethyl acetate) seems to remove part of the glue but also on rubbing seems to spread it around. There is always a sticky residue.
Any ideas?
Replies
I had a ton of 1 quart dog treat bottles with screw lids. Perfect for storing a # or so of nails etc. But they had wrap around labels. I did the soap thing, the hot water thing and the goop things but what worked best was just using a heat gun and they all peeled right off with a majority of the adhesive. Then a little "Oops" on the last of the glue and done. Ooops doesn't hurt the plastic.
BB
Hi mateTry eucalyptus oil, has removed just about every sticky label glue I have tried it on. Should be available in most Pharmacy or Health product stores.
I've had good luck with a product called "Goo Gone" And it smells like oranges...
What!?
Ye mean ye don't use yer chisel? What's this world coming to........
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Bob,
I tried them but kept paring the plastic.BB
Well, I've run them through my drum sander and planer before, but that tends to cause the plastic to get too thin. Perhaps I shouldn't take such a heavy cut...
Ha, Ha, ha. That was funny.
I'm still laughing, thanks!
Regards,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
"Goo Gone" works for most things if the paper is off first.
Ether. Buy a can of starting fluid.
................................................
Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
~ Denis Diderot
Oils such as plain vegetable oil work well, no need to buy eucalyptus oil. But oils are a bit slow to penetrate some label materials.
Ordinary naphtha works very well and is quicker acting. A small bottle of Ronson lighter fluid is all you need and the nozzle on the bottle makes it easy to dispense. Let it penetrate a minute and then start peeling the label back from one edge adding a drop or two as needed along the peeling up area to keep dissolving the adhesive ahead of the lifted section. The label must be dry when you start water makes the paper too soft, it will tear instead of peeling up.
Once the label is off a paper towel dampened with naphtha will pick up the remaining adhesive.
Sometimes just filling the bottle with very hot water will soften the adhesive enough that you can peel off the label without needing a solvent except for final clean up.
Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007
Goo Gone, Goof Off. Both available at the hardware or craft store.
Use WD-40 or vegetable oil.
I had the same problems removing labels from those 2 lb Mr. Peanut containers. Fill the bottle with hot (NOT boiling) water and wait 3 or 4 minutes. Dump the water, being careful not to get water on the label and then peel off the label. Use either Goo Gone or Goof Off. A few drops on the glue and it will wipe off with a paper towel leaving no sticky residue behind. They both work wonders on removing the paper protection from sheets of really old plexiglass.
SawdustSteve Long Island, NY (E of NYC)
Hitting the label for a few minutes with a hair dryer. It will plasticize the adhesive and come off much cleaner. If there is any residue, the aforementioned solvents will clean up the little bit that remains.
Do you have access to some diesel fuel, gasoline, stove oil - any nonpolar solvent.
Edited 10/19/2009 12:35 am ET by Tinkerer3
Edited 10/19/2009 12:36 am ET by Tinkerer3
Edited 10/20/2009 9:13 pm ET by Tinkerer3
Thanks for all the suggestions. So far I have found that soaking the containers in hot water helps for removal of the paper labels, leaving the glue in place. Interestingly, the glue on some bottles then wiped of with fingernail polish remover (ethyl acetate) but not with Goo Gone (petroleum distillate plus citrus). Other bottles (from other manufacturers) only responded to Goo Gone but not to ethyl acetate. This probably does relate to the polarity of the solvent.Is there an adhesive chemist in the house?
When all else fails, I reach for the WD40. It sometimes works when the other solvents won't. Another fall back is turps.
FWIW, WD40 also does a pretty good job of removing poly foam or glue from fingers if you get at it right away and rub pretty hard with a towel moistened with the stuff.
And, as a bonus, it leaves your hands smeling soooo nice! ;-)Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PAEverything fits, until you put glue on it.
I am not an adhesive chemist but I am a Pharmacist and I have tried many methods over the years The most sucessful method I have found is to fill the container with hot water then peal off the label(Some types of plastic containers will collapse when filled with hot water but this is only a small minority)As previously stated do not allow the the label to become wet or this will hamper its removalIf there is a plastic residue left behind I have found petrol or paint brush cleaner on a cloth give the best results The best source of containers is your local pharmacy regards Charnwood
Edited 10/26/2009 3:36 pm by charnwood123
Why not just get some new sticky labels and just put them on over the old ones?
Or, if you're really worried about aesthetics, get yourself some old-growth lumber and turn some new containers. Finish with fish oil rather than BLO and you can keep the spirit of the medicine bottle idea alive as well.
orko
Try mineral spirits (paint-thinner).
Tom
I have dealt with this problem on glass bottles. Where using a standard kitchen steel or brass scouring pad has worked well, just soak in hot water first for a few minutes, should work on plastic if it's not to soft.
Bill
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled