The number one method for removing paper price stickers, scotch tape or tags is to use a BLOW DRYER. Simply heat up the sticker and about 9 out of 10 times it will lift without tearing or damaging the surface. How many times have you seen a book, toy, model kit box or other paper collectible with scratching or damage where there may have been a sticker at one time?... YECH!

IF you are removing the sticker (or adhesive residue from a sticker) from a plastic toy or other NON-PAINTED* product, one of the best products I have found is by POLLY S and is called "EASY-LIFT-OFF" Paint and Decal Remover.  This product can remove all residue and paint without damaging the toy. Read the directions carefully as this is a product to be used with caution. If you leave the product on too long, some plastic may haze......But this stuff is amazing for removing paint from plastic. I use it often when there is some tape adhesive residue or stickers on new and old things. (Lots of times when I buy something new there are stickers and labels that are hard as heck to remove.) One of my main tools for removing grime  (and old paint being stripped) is a nylon bristled toothbrush and a flat toothpick for the cracks.

I recommend you leave the old price stickers and any other paper tags on the item and let the buyer remove them. (Personally, I like the original price stickers on my collectible! To this day, many sellers will delete the original 98 cent price sticker by marking them out with a magic marker or scratching or cutting the price off!  Yeow! A collectible makes it 50 or 60 years unscathed only to be damaged as part of a sale in 2008!!!!

LIGHTER FLUID, GOOF-OFF etc. CAUTION: While these products can often remove old stickers and labels; It can dissolve some inks and lithography. It can haze some plastics or create a larger spot. I don't use these products as a rule....but, of course, I've tried them. On recommendation, I tried using lighter fluid to remove a bit of price-tag adhesive from the top of a Revell model kit box top from the 50's: The small spot of tape residue became a thumb-sized area where the color washed away like water-color paint! OOPS!

BONUS TIP FOR THE COLLECTOR for removing markers, grease pen marks etc.

*GRAPESEED OIL. Grapeseed oil (as used for cooking) can remove marks and pen marks from plastic toys and rubber toys and can remove marks from painted surfaces or hot stamped decoration/insignia areas. This oil can sometimes dissolve or loosen all sorts of old and new pen marks on plastic, rubber, old tin toys and nonporous collectibles. Dampen the marker area and leave the grapeseed oil on for several hours or overnight. I've removed old grease-pen marks from the painted areas of Auburn toys with grapeseed oil.

BUT IN ALL CASES when using any type of solvent or liquid, be skilled, gentle and practice on a bad toy or hidden area first. Get a magnifier if you don't have one. You don't want to turn a small mark into a large smudge. When rubbing or removing old marks remember the goal is to not break anything that isn't broken....and that includes the finish.

Unfortunately, some old tape and marks will never come off!

c 2008 SecretMonkey