What on earth can I use to remove this from windows?

[Foolsgold74]

It's residue from sticky tape and it's left a real mess. I've tried specialist sticky stuff remover, nail varnish remover, baby oil, wd40, a plain old scraper, a glue gun, a hairdryer, a steamer and nothing has budged it. Any suggestions? It's a real eye sore. (If there's no pic yet, it's because its still under review).

If you’ve tried all that, it might be a case of sanding it off and touching up the paint.

Is it on wood or UPVC?

It's upvc, not paint.

I’ve had this too. I chipped it off a few but then obviously the finish is ruined… it’s infuriating. lurking for ideas.

Ah sorry - soaking it would probably help but I’m not sure how you’d achieve that.

Pure acetone

You can but it cheaply on amazon.

Isn't that just nail varnish remover?

Soaking it in what?

I had that but on a varnished wooden door. I soaked it in hot soapy water, scraped it a little with an old kitchen knife and re-wet it again. It's a little and often approach unfortunately but I got there in the end eventually.

You need something oily that will dissolve the adhesive and also not run off the vertical surface so it has time to work. It needs to stay there for a decent amount of time

My suggestions are vaseline, mayonnaise, foam carpet cleaner, or cotton pads/rags soaked in acetone/nail varnish remover/wd40 etc which are held tight against the residue somehow.

This stuff is amazing!

www.diy.com/departments/x-pro-super-solver-x99938-sealant-adhesive-remover-500ml/5060416999386_BQ.prd?&&&&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22299748293&gbraid=0AAAAADt-XHn50jm9minSG0QDXx5LAgzvT&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_L_FBhDmARIsAItqgt6QVJ64Ji7fKPrdpOvqIaKYfSjXJ2Vw0PkXPUrjdk7MU-oHtFEhjoEaAhiDEALw_wcB

You've probably tried it - but I would use White Spirit, and if that doesn't work Methylated Spirit. They work in different ways so often where one fails the other can work. Sometimes it will 'melt' the glue and you end up with a larger but thinner mess which subsequent applications will remove.

(There is a risk that Acetone will.attack the surface of the uPVC)

Pure acetone is a one chemical solution (acetone!) so stronger than nail varnish remover which is usually a diluted solution of a mixture of chemicals. Sometimes nail varnish has no acetone at all to make it gentler.

Have you tried the pink stuff?

Ooh I can answer this! Get yourself to a pharmacy and ask for Zoff wipes, they are used in hospital to take off residue from plasters and dressings. Any pharmacy should have them. Or in a similar situation I successfully used Isoclean it’s a makeup brush cleaner but is essentially the same thing as Zoff. Left our uPVC windows good as new.

I did exactly that. Made not a jot of difference. It's like it's welded on.

No but there's no way that would work. It's just a cleaning agent. This stuff is literally like it's welded on. It's not just a bit of gooey stuff. It's set rock hard.

Cleaner here..
Blade from a Stanley knife. And be careful.

White vinegar and bicarbonate of soda are my go to - you can mix to make a paste which won't fall off. Wipe off with water after a few hours.

Do you have a steamer of some sort?
Try steaming a patch to see if you can soften it which might take a few minutes.

Once softened, you should be able to scrape the majority of it off then should be able to finish with something like white sprit/acetone.

You can also try soaking some cotton wool or similar in white spirits/methylated spirits and taping them to the window for a few hours covered with a plastic bag to help slow the evaporation.

Just don't leave the new bit of tape up so long it becomes a problem itself.

Have you tried hand sanitiser? Some are mostly ethanol, some isopropyl alcohol (the latter being a whizz at removing various types of plastic gunk).

We had this on our windows and used olive oil.

No, I haven't. It was sticky back velcro, so it's not just adhesive. It's like the velcro remains are welded on now. If I try to scrape it off, a bit of old dust sort of comes off ish but that's it.

Baby oil made no difference, so I imagine it's similar.

Yep, tried steaming it and a glue gun and a hairdryer. Didn't make the slightest difference.