Help! Removing Ugly Stickers from a Used Acoustic

[Choag]

So Im buying a nice little Alvarez Beater Acoustic for real cheap. Its currently covered in tons of ugly stickers. Im not exactly the most handy person around. Can someone provide me with some tips to remove these stickers and clean up the guitar (its a natural spruce top).

[Freeman Keller]

Maybe a little heat from a hair drier (carefully) and some naptha (lighter fluid) to clean the residue. Some decals will soften with water, I'd try that first.

[sumpm1]

Yeah, try water, and then lighter fluid or alcohol. Usually water is just as good as alcohol though. Just try to take the water softened sticker of with your finger nails. It will take all night, but it's better than ruining the finish any more than you need to.

[LarriveeFan]

go to home depot and go in the paint dept. Look for a product called "Goof off" in a orange plastic spray bottle, its the water base product,dont get the stuff in a yellow can. Use sparringly, get as much off with peeling then spray some on a rag, dont spray on the guitar. It will take you a long time, be patient and dont get too aggressive.

Good luck

[DeepEnd]

Another product that will work is "Goo Gone," which you should be able to find in any hardware store. You might also check with your mom, sister, girlfriend, etc., and see if they have any Avon "Skin So Soft" bath oil you can use. It has hundreds of uses (almost none of them supported by Avon ) and removing price tag residue and other sticky stuff is one of them.

[denvertrakker]

+1 on Goo Gone and Skin So Soft - I've used both for years. I'd stay away from Goof Off, it's very toxic.

[Dave W.]

Most labels/stickers use pressure sensitive adhesive. Absolute best remover is heat, very gently, from a blow dryer or heat gun. Go slowly and let the heat build up gradually until the label starts to lift off. Patience will go along way here, too much heat will blister the finish. I like rubber cement thinner as a solvent to clean up any left over residue. You want something that evaporates instantly, so as not to attack the finish.

[AK47]

Another issue of concern is that UV light has a tendency to darken wood especialy spruce tops. If these stickers have been on a long time it is posible that the wood may be lighter where the stickers were. If this has happened I don't know if there is a cure. You said it was a beater though.

[mschafft]

Once the sticker is off, you can use it to take off the remaining heated glue by sticking it on and off carefully as many times as it takes to get rid of the glue. That's the best way to take care of the problem without using potentially damaging chemicals on the wood and finish IMO.

[RainsongDR1000]

+1 for the hair dryer and lighter fluid (Naptha). It is the recommended method to remove pickguards. You will most likely have a lot of "Tan lines"

[32-20-Blues]

Reminds me of the time I had to remove a golpedor from a classical: not fun at all. Took me around 4 hours of careful work with nail polish remover. Turned out perfectly, btw.

[Choag]

Thanks for all the input guys. I do have a hair dryer and some rubber cement thinner at work (we build displays) so I think Im going to give that a whirl.

 

I really dont NEED another guitar though.

[babablowfish]

I really dont NEED another guitar though.

 

That's what we all said until the day we woke up and couldn't find a clear path to the bathroom bacause of all the damned guitars cluttering up the joint .

[d28andm1911a1]

Get some big stickers to cover the old stickers. It's MOJO and it's a beater.

[Bernie P.]

Any of the methods mentioned so far will work but if your still concerned about damaging the finish you can always just peel them off best you can and rub the remaining residue off with just your fingers.It aint fast but there's no chance you'll do any harm either.

[Choag]

So I got the guitar and after all that, Im not positive that I want to take them off yet. It sounds good, and the stickers definitely make it look like the beater that it is. Ill post pics when I get a chance.

 

Thanks for the help.

[Freeman Keller]

Choag, if you do decide to take 'em off I'm going to caution against some of the solvents that have been suggested, particularly nail polish remover (which is basically lacquer thinner). If the guitar is true lacquer (either nitro or waterbased) that will soften the finish. Try a tiny drop someplace where it doesn't show (back of the heel maybe). Napha (light fluid) is normally safe for most finishes and white gas is sometimes used to clean sticky residues.

[VengefulTikiGod]

WD-40 will actually take those stickers off--though I don't know how it will affect the finish... maybe try it on a small, out of the way spot first? And don't forget to wipe it off after you use it. It definitely gets sticker residue off, though.