On Oct 9, 21:00, Philip Pemberton wrote:
> Hi all,
> OK, so here I am sitting at my computer with a stack of 100 or so
disks
> to reformat. Unfortunately most of said disks have been labelled using
> felt-tip pen. And the labels are the nasty kind that don't come off
without
> a fight. Sooo... Has anyone got a method that will get these stupid
things
> off without leaving a gummy, sticky residue or damaging my disks? I've
tried
> WD40 (didn't work at all), 3-in-1 oil (don't ask), an upside down
airblaster
> (freeze spray for half the price) and a few other things and nothing
works!
> Anyone want to share their secret?
Since you're in the UK, I'd suggest one of the aerosol label removers that
CPC sell. They're quite effective.
What I use, though, is white spirit (as used for cleaning brushes used for
oil paint) or sub turps. Several drops on the label (make sure it covers
the whole thing) and leave it for an hour or two, then it will probably
peel off *slowly*. I've even used this to remove thirty-year old labels
from the covers of ex-library books, but for really stubborn labels like
that, usually I put on enough to make the label look slighly wet, cover it
with a piece of kitchen paper soaked in white spirit (to prevent it all
evaporating too quickly) and leave it for 24 hours.
Any residue can be removed with kitchen paper or a rag moistened in white
spirit, then followed with a dry paper to remove the rest. If it was on
something absorbent (like a book cover) let it dry thoroughly for a day or
two after that.
If the label mostly comes off, but leaves a thin layer of paper, you can
probably scrape that off with a fingernail and remove the rest of the goo
with sellotape and perseverance.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York
Received on Wed Oct 09 2002 - 15:33:01 BST