Whether you move into a new apartment or become a member of a new club, the administration usually requires you to put up a parking sticker on your car. This also means getting rid of all the outdated parking stickers and decals that you no longer need.
Sounds like a sticky situation, doesn’t it?
The following tips may come in handy if you need to remove a sticker that just won’t budge:
Rubbing alcohol
Both rubbing and denatured alcohol work well in helping you get rid of stickers from your windshield. Try and work the trick with a paper towel soaked in rubbing alcohol. Keep on dapping the sticker until it becomes soft and starts coming off on its own. Make sure you use ample quantity, so the entire sticker gets soaked.
After you’ve done so, don’t start peeling away immediately. Wait for a few moments, so the sticker softens. To peel off, use a plastic card or a plastic scraper. Avoid using a razor blade since it can make scratches appear on the glass if you’re not too careful. After the sticker has been taken off, use a fresh paper towel soaked in water to remove any removing adhesive residue.
Hot water treatment
Hot water treatment is effective, but you need to be careful with it if you don’t want hot water spilling onto your skin.
Take any water container that is easy to pour; a bottle would do too. Pour in piping hot water and add a bit of liquid soap. Mix it well and spread an ample amount on the sticker. This is a more feasible method since liquid soap is more readily available than rubbing alcohol.
The rest of the process that follows is pretty much the same. Please wait for the decal to soak up so it can come lose quickly. Take it out using your fingers once it loosens.
Surprisingly, both heat and cold work well to take off decals. If hot water treatment doesn’t work too well, you can try your luck with ice too. Hold the ice pack against the sticker for several minutes. When the adhesive cools down, peel it off using a blade.
Window cleaning solutions
Regular window cleaning solutions might also work, but they’ll require you to put in the extra effort. Since window cleaners aren’t as strong as denatured alcohol or as hot as water, you’ll repeat the steps mentioned above, several times. The trick is to spray, use a razor blade to chip, and pull bit by bit. After several attempts, the decal will eventually come off.
No matter which method you use, you need to be careful not to scratch the windshield. Even deep scratches can turn into chips and cracks if they remain unattended. Scratches can also distort a driver’s field of view when they’re out on the road.
If you’ve messed up during your DIY sticker-removal endeavors, be quick to book an appointment with Auto Glass in San Antonio. We deal with all sorts of minor and major windshield repairs in San Antonio, TX.
