How to Take Off Car Decals with very tough Adhesive
This is one of the most common complaints we receive when it comes to adhesive stickers, and one I've written about in the past, but it deserves another visit because it happens frequently and can be an annoyance. The good news is that it is not difficult to fix, and your paint will be in good shape when you're done.
Even temporary adhesive stickers that have been on a vehicle or window over time will leave a perimeter glue residue on paint or glass, and because the glue also attracts dirt when it's exposed, what you're seeing is the glue plus the dirt it's attracted to itself over the period of time it's been affixed to the surface it was stuck to.
As I said to start with, it's a very simple solution, and one that is solvable by visiting your local hardware store. At the hardware store, simply ask for "orange peel" glue remover. This glue remover is harmless to paint and clear coating on a vehicle, although, as with any solvent, we'd urge you to try it on an area that is out of view, like under the hood or trunk, just to be on the safe side. I don't want you coming back to me saying, "the paint on my luxury automobile was ruined due to bad advice from you!
Sticker Peels After Hours of Installation. What to do?
The short answer is "I don't know." The reason I can't definitively tell you whether you can get it to stick to the phone is three-fold. First, I don't know what type of plastic your phone or phone cover is made from. Certain types of plastics require special adhesives to enable a sticker to stick to that type of plastic. Polypropylene is a good example of a plastic that can be difficult to marry a decal to, due, I suppose, to the chemical make up of that particular plastic.
The second issue is the adhesive, which I alluded to in the previous paragraph. Most adhesives are acrylic-based, and stick well to most things, but not too well to some others, such as polypropylene. There are, of course, aggressive adhesives available, but you're probably never going to find them used with off-the-shelf stickers like what you purchased.
Thirdly, you may be able to purchase a spray adhesive that will stick your decal to your phone, but I'm not terribly optimistic here, but it could be worth a try, depending on how much you really want your Marilyn Monroe sticker to be on your phone. Be prepared to pay $10 to $15 for a can of spray, though, at your local art supply. Personally, I'd probably ditch the idea, but that's up to you and your personal budget.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barry K. Brown has been in the Sign, Banner, Decal and Display Business for over 20 years. It isn't what he thought he'd do with his life, but he says he knows too much now to do anything else!
He has been marketing these products online since 1998, and the company he was general manager of in 1998 was the first sign company to be listed on Yahoo!