YSK: it’s better to be cleaning with chemicals/liquids you won’t have to then clean up with other chemicals/liquids.
Stuff like Alcohol or Naptha which evaporate and don’t leave yet another residue to remove.
Same reason I don’t use goo-gone either.
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2025
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It's also flammable btw.
the goo be gone liquid too,.
Just use rubbing/cleaning alcohol, way cheaper too probably
Yeah, isopropyl alcohol is probably the best because it doesn't leave any residue behind like oil, wd40, and other adhesive removers do.
I sometimes use both WD40 and alcohol, the former to losen the sticker, the latter to remove leftover residue
This is the way
normal vegetable oil has the same effect on sticker residue, like on jars and such.
You should also remember that it's absolutely not a substitute for proper oil or grease lubrication. The WD stands for "Water Displacement."
Came to say this. It works well for displacing things, not lubrication.
WD-40 and 3-in1 Oil, the olive oil and vinegar of the handyman world.
WD-40 is a jack of all trades but master of none. There's probably a better product, no matter what you're trying to do, but everyone has a can of WD-40 lying around.
This is largely because people misuse WD-40. It’s a solvent. It was made to displace water, which is why it’s slick; It slips into wet joints, and sticks to everything it can so the water is repelled. But the chemical properties of this make it amazing at dissolving things that water won’t. It dissolves rust, which allows it to bust up seized joints. It dissolves oils, which makes it good for cleaning machine parts. It dissolves adhesives, which is why it’s so good at helping scrape them up.
It’s not a good lubricant, because that’s not what it’s made to do. After you dissolve all of the rust, you need to apply a fresh coat of oil, or else the part will just seize up again after the WD-40 evaporates. Because the WD-40 didn’t just dissolve the rust; It also dissolved the oil that was lubricating it and protecting it from further oxidation.
Oddly enough, some people swear by it as an arthritis treatment. Have some stubborn arthritis pain that painkillers or meds won’t touch? Try rubbing some WD-40 on the joint like lotion. Apparently it works when nothing else will.
The company's stance is fully against using it on arthritic joints.
WD-40 Company does not recommend the use of WD-40 Multi-Use Product for medical purposes, and knows no reason why WD-40 Multi-Use Product would be effective for arthritis pain relief. WD-40 Multi-Use Product contains petroleum distillates and should be handled with the same precautions for any product containing this type of material.
People who swear by getting pain relief from spraying and/or rubbing on WD-40 are actually getting that relief from the cooling effect and/or rubbing, and it's nothing to do with the chemicals in the spray.
Thanks, this exactly. Each material has its own ideal product or method, but a light rub with WD-40 works on nearly anything (but not what you’re thinking – it’s never lube. It’s poisonous.).
It actually has interesting chemical properties.
If you don’t have any, or want a food safe alternative, soak the remaining sticker in cooking oil.
Isopropyl alcohol also works.
Oh, I didn’t know about cooking oil, that’s awesome.
Alcohol works, but it will destroy many finishes (painted or stained furniture, coated paper, some coated metals, some plastics and rubbers, etc), whereas WD-40 is safe for most finishes.
Sounds like cooking oil may be as well – gonna have to try that, thanks!
Cooking oil helps with scrubbing it off so that it doesn't continue to stick. Good for scraping off the residue.
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You should know that wd is for water displacement. If you are trying to do anything else there is a better chemical you should use instead.
Recently I discovered I could use a hair dryer from the thrift store that has a diffuser. I have been gently softening the adhesive and peeling them off, and I have been finding that in most cases, it no longer leaves any adhesive behind!
I've had good luck with Goo Gone.
It has an extremely strong citrus smell (which I don't think is an additive for smell, as it's overpowering).
kagis
No, according to them, orange extract is one of the solvents.
https://googone.com/media/ingredient/goo-gone-goo-and-adhesive-remover-spray-gel-ingredients.pdf
I came here to mention Goo Gone. Used it a lot.
Goo Gone is what I've used for years. It's quite effective at the getting rid of the super stubborn ones.
i use orange oil if i want it to smell nice, goo gone if i don't care. both work great, the trick is saturating it with oil. mineral oil will work in a pinch too.
Isopropyl alcohol is all you need, and is less aggressive than WD-40.
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It's also great for taking crayon drawings off walls.
Have children to learn hacks ;)
More sticky children hacks, please. :)
Lighter fluid works great as well
True, but lighter fluid can ruin many surfaces. WD-40 is weirdly gentle on most surfaces (though it doesn’t seem like it would be).
I've never seen naptha (i.e. Zippo lighter fluid) do anything to any painted or finished surface, nor any of the plastics I've ever tired it on. I've been using the stuff in that context for decades, to the extent that I literally purchase it by the gallon. (I also use it in my lighters, because painter's naptha is like 2% of the cost per volume of brand name Zippo fluid despite being the same stuff.)
WD-40 contains nonvolatile oils that will leave a difficult to clean off residue behind and if you use it on anything porous it will soak in and possibly stain the surface while being functionally impossible to remove without using yet more solvents. For that reason it's not really a great way to get stickers off of things, especially things that you'd like to remain non-greasy or may need to stick something to again at some point in the future (paint, tape, etc.).
Naptha will evaporate entirely on its own given enough time, and you can even use it on paper and printed surfaces (excluding inkjet printed things, in my experience, which it will smear) with no harm done after it fully dries.
I’ve never seen naptha (i.e. Zippo lighter fluid) do anything to any painted or finished surface, nor any of the plastics I’ve ever tired it on.
I'd guess that it's probably bad news for natural rubber. IIRC, naphtha is similar to gasoline, and gasoline will mess natural rubber up.
That being said, I have a can of naphtha myself.
kagis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_rubber
The two main solvents for rubber are turpentine and naphtha (petroleum). Because rubber does not dissolve easily, the material is finely divided by shredding prior to its immersion.
Sounds like it.
One other thing to keep in mind is that it is (obviously, given that that's how lighters that use it work) quite flammable in vapor form and the fumes aren't great to breathe, so this is something you'd want to use in a well-ventillated area.
EDIT:
https://kleanstrip.com/solvents-and-thinners/vmp-naphtha/
Klean-Strip® VM&P Naphtha can be used in place of Paint Thinner for oil-based paint, varnish and enamel when a faster drying time is desired.
So I don't think I'd want to casually get it on oil-based paint, since it'll be a solvent for that too.
xylene or toluene or denatured spirits or acetone or basically any solvent you can buy at hardware store works for this really
check to make sure they don’t fuck up plastic though
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Yes, this works with most stickers, but there are some tough bastards that even resist that.
I found out bike chain oil works wonders for this as well. I also found out that bike chain oil will make you mildly high at the same time.
That’s not really a bonus. WD-40 will likely also get you high in close quarters – it’s probably more expensive than weed, though, and likely kills more of your brain than is worth it.
I recommend a high THC, mushrooms, or LSD instead. Combustible inhalants are a worse high that will probably give you a headache and then cancer. No bueno.
Oh it wasnt on purpose. Im not advocating it.
If your car ever gets spray painted, WD-40 is also very good at removing that. Just spray it on a lint-free rag and gently wipe the spray paint and the WD-40 will dissolve the spray paint and whisk it away with a minimum amount of effort.
My go to for cleaning sticker residue off glass is wd-40 and a fresh razor blade. Works like a charm and is scratch free.
Mine is either Isopropanol alcohol and/or hot water (only with glass) + a lint free rag
The hot water get's inside the container to heat up the glue.
The isopropanol is to get rid of the glue.
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