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How to Remove Bumper Stickers

August 25, 2023
How to Remove Bumper Stickers

Whether it’s a custom printed sticker of your alma mater, your favorite sports team, or a local business, bumper stickers are excellent ways to make your vehicle stand out on the road or otherwise spread the word about your brand or business. They’re incredibly easy to apply, which gives you a lot of room to personalize your vehicle. But the same cannot be said about removing them.

Should the time come for you to remove your bumper stickers, you’ll need to know and observe the proper techniques to prevent damaging your car or being left with a sticky mess. Not to worry, though. We provide you with the best solutions to remove bumper stickers in this article.

How to Remove Bumper Stickers Safely?

1. Use a WD-40 Lubricant WD-40 is a strong and effective lubricant that can loosen the adhesive on your bumper stickers. You just need to spray it on the edges of the sticker you want to remove and then let the solution sit for five minutes.
Afterward, lift a corner with your fingers, a credit card, a rubber spatula, or any other dull object. From here, start peeling the bumper sticker off slowly. You may notice some adhesive residue on the surface after you remove the sticker. Just spray small amounts of WD-40 solution on them to help loosen the adhesive and then wipe the residue off with a soft cloth.

2. Apply White Vinegar White vinegar has potent adhesive-removal properties, making it a solution for stubborn bumper stickers that you already have in your pantry. Pour a small amount of white vinegar into a bowl and saturate a clean paper towel in the vinegar. Lay the towel over the bumper sticker for a good three to five minutes to let the vinegar soak the sticker. This should make it easy for you to lift a corner of the sticker and peel it off fully. In case residue is left over, soak a wet cloth in the vinegar and use it to wipe the remaining adhesive off.

A “student driver” bumper sticker needs to be removed from a vehicle.

3. Use Heat to Remove Bumper Stickers You can also remove bumper stickers by exposing them to heat with a blow dryer. Set your dryer to low heat and aim the nozzle at the bumper sticker. Keep the heat at least 6 inches away from the sticker to avoid eroding your car’s paint or melting your bumper.
Apply the heat evenly throughout the bumper sticker for one minute. Then, lift a corner of the sticker and insert a credit card or rubber spatula. Glide the tool beneath the sticker to remove it. If residue is left behind, wipe it off with a soft cloth dampened with rubbing alcohol.

4. Use Boiling Water Here’s a cost-free way to remove your bumper stickers — use boiling water. Fill a pot or kettle with water and bring it to a boil. Apply the water to the bumper sticker and start peeling from the edges. You might not get the sticker off fully on the first try. Just keep repeating the process until the sticker and adhesive residue are removed.
While less effective than other options, using boiling water is free and is a good first resort in case you don’t have any of the other products we listed in this article.

5. Goo Gone Automotive Spray Gel Goo Gone Automotive Spray Gel is a formula that’s specifically made to remove sticky residue on cars, from tree sap and bird droppings to bumper sticker adhesive. You can find it in most hardware stores or automotive accessory shops.
To remove your bumper stickers with the Goo Gone solvent, spray the gel over the sticker and let it sit for a couple of minutes. Once you’ve given it time to soften the adhesive, peel the sticker off, starting from the edges and working your way to the center.

Removing stickers from a vehicle is never easy and requires carefulness and attention.

Conclusion

Removing stickers from your car bumper requires extra care and attention so you don’t end up with a sticky mess or damage to your vehicle’s paint. Try any of the solutions we’ve listed above to free your car of stickers you’ve outgrown. To restore shine to your bumper, apply a fresh coat of wax with a buffer pad after removing the sticker completely.

You can also read our article about how to put a sticker on a car if you decide to add a new sticker to your car in the future.