Warbird Information Exchange

Been asked to remove some stickers from aircraft windows, does anyone have any experience, recommendations Don't want to scratch them up any more than they already are.
Thanks.

Peel them and then use goo be gone or something like that. Worked great for me.

You might try mineral spirits or baby oil. Baby oil worked great to dissolve the adhesive off of a bumper sticker my 4 year old applied to his arm...

RONSON lighter fluid (mostly Naptha) will disolve most sticker adhesives without damaging the plexi. Toluline will remove most types of really sticky decal glues and I know it won't affect enamal painted surfaces.

Thanks for the reply's everyone.

anything acetone or tolulene based will mar & soften plexi in minutes to the point that you could stand a toothpick in it. if you choose this method have soapy water & a sponge available to neutralize the solvent without damaging the surface, work fast, but thorough w/the sponge!!

Head gasket scrapers that use regular razor blades are often sold with 1 or 2 plastic razor blades included. Use these with liberal amounts of Goo Gone to take off stickers. Also good for removing stickers from a painted surface without messing up the paint. I got mine for $3.99 at the local auto parts place.
-Robert

Thanks for the tips.

A hair dryer, and a bit of isopropel alcohol, rubbing alcohol. But the hair dryer should do it, just don't get it too hot.

We use WD-40 on removing decals. Won't harm the plastic or metal.

racemech11 wrote:We use WD-40 on removing decals. Won't harm the plastic or metal.

I 2nd the WD-40. Look for a piece of Plexiglass and cut a angle on it and use it to scrap the decal away...

Enemy Ace wrote:Head gasket scrapers that use regular razor blades are often sold with 1 or 2 plastic razor blades included. Use these with liberal amounts of Goo Gone to take off stickers. Also good for removing stickers from a painted surface without messing up the paint. I got mine for $3.99 at the local auto parts place.
-Robert

I second the plastic razor blades. I used to remove dealershership stickers and badges all the time off of car paint. Especially nissans, they have the sofest paints.
Oh, the plastic razor blade plus 3M adhesive remover.

Even more simple than buying a dedicated tool, way back when I worked in Daytona Beach on the ERAU fleet, all of the DBA/Jet Center mechanics kept a scrap piece of plexiglass in the their toolbox just for removing inspection reminder stickers. A 1.5 in. by 4 in. piece of an old aircraft window with a 45 degree bevel cut on one end made a very effective scrapper. It didn't do anything to the good windows in the aircraft and it was easy to resharpen as necessary. If it got too worn down, we'd just go cut another piece.

I can't remember exactly since it's been so long, but I think we used isopropol alcohol to soften the adhesive on the stickers too.

Tea tree oil....not only is it useful for a multitude of medical uses but it smells a hell of a lot better than MEK and works just as well.

wapeach wrote:Tea tree oil....not only is it useful for a multitude of medical uses but it smells a heck of a lot better than MEK and works just as well.

HUH? who in their right mind would use MEK on plexi?