StickerYou Blog

Books are special items that see a lot of wear and tear over time. Maybe they’ve got labels from a previous owner or a child got a bit sticker happy with the cover. Regardless, you may find yourself looking for a way to remove these without tearing or damaging the surface of your book. 

Here are some general tips when trying to remove stickers from any book: 

• Use dry removal methods, as water-based products could easily leave your treasured novels as soggy messes. 
• Pay close attention to the book’s cover and see whether it’s matte, soft-touch, velvet, or paper. 
• Choose sticker-removal methods that do not scratch the protective book surface, remove the cover pigmentation, or leave permanent stains.

How to Remove Stickers From Books With a Thin Utensil?

While many online sources will tell you to opt for your fingernails we think using a thin utensil or tool is a better option A putty knife, a thin precision spatula, a credit card, or a razor blade will do nicely here. You might even save yourself from getting an annoying papercut.
Step 1: Use the tool to gently scrape the edges of the stickers up from the book surface. For easier removal, lift up all four corners of the sticker.
Step 2: Once there is enough to hold onto, grip the edge and gently peel the sticker up slowly, being careful not to rip the paper.
Step 3: If the sticker does not come off in one clean peel, stop and loosen the tougher parts with your tool, then continue peeling.

How to Remove Stickers From Books With a Hairdryer?

Step 1: Turn your hairdryer to low or medium heat.
Step 2: Aim the hairdryer towards the sticker and hold it there for up to 40 seconds.
Step 3: Check to see if the sticker has warmed up and is softer.
Step 4: Start peeling the sticker while aiming the hairdryer at the corner.
Step 5: Continue peeling until you remove the whole sticker.

How to Remove Stickers From Books With a Clothes Iron?

Step 1: Choose a flat, heat-proof surface and place your book on it with the sticker-covered surface facing upwards.
Step 2: Place a thin towel or t-shirt over the book.
Step 3: Turn your iron on and set it to medium heat, and once heated up, press the iron on the book cover, moving it backwards and forwards.
Step 4: Repeat step 3 until the sticker is warmed up.
Step 5: Peel off the sticker with your fingers.

How to Remove Stickers and Residue From Book Pages?

All you need is an eraser and some patience! Just gently push the eraser over the residue in short, slow strokes. This should push the residue slowly off the page while leaving your book tear-free.

Precautions When Removing Stickers From Books 

1. Always ensure that another person is helping you when using a hairdryer. Never place your fingers directly next to the hairdryer when it is on to avoid burning your fingers. 
2. When using a clothes iron, never leave the hot iron on the book cover to avoid burning the protective layer (towel or t-shirt) as well as your book cover.
3. Avoid using water, soap, or any liquid solutions on books and their covers, as this will wet the pages and ruin the book.
4. While some online sources recommend you use nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol to remove stickers, this is a no-no. This can ruin the ink on the book and leave the cover feeling gritty.
5. Despite recommendations to use baby oil and coconut oil to remove stickers, this is a risky option. Oils can damage your book and leave ugly oil stains behind. Some book covers are porous, and for this reason, we don’t recommend this method.
6. Some online bookworms will recommend the use of lighter fluid. Given how dangerous lighter fluid is, it’s best to avoid this method and the hazardous risks that go with it.
7. When removing sticker residue from book covers or book pages, never let the residue pile up and remove it as soon as you spot it. The less residue on the cover or the page, the easier it is to remove.

Now you’re ready to never worry about removing stickers from books again! These tips should make it simple for you to restore any book surface without hassle. If you find yourself labelling books frequently our removable roll labels are the perfect solution for your needs.

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StickerYou blog posts are written and published by members of the StickerYou team at our headquarters, located in the beautiful city of Toronto, Canada.