Removing traces of masking tape from window panes

[PlainHunting]

I painted a window frame on Monday, have come to remove the tape from the glass today and it has been a real struggle to get it off and has left lots of sticky residue.

I've googled and have tried removing it with nail varnish remover, Lakeland Sticky Stuff remover, washing up liquid and hot water, WD-40, and none of them are working that well. Nail varnish remover is the best of the lot but it is a painfully slow and laborious process. Is there anything else I could try?

oooh I'm interested to see what people come up with as I have the same problem on my front door

White spirit or methylated spirits on a cotton ball should remove it.

Will try that. Don't want to remove the paint though as it inevitably drips down.

I've spent 5 hours today trying to remove it and it still looks awful. I reckon it will take most of tomorrow too.

Dh has helpfully pointed out that there is a special type of masking tape that doesn't create this problem. I used B&Q economy tape.

Surgical spirit?

Furniture polish seems to magically dissolve residue from sticky labels. Worth a try!

Little bit of oil - cooking oil works okay. That sticks to the stick, makes it into a black stringy mass (lovely!) and then you can sort of scrape that stuff off - I used a car ice scraper very carefully.

There is some spray called sticky stuff which removes adhesive. It's in a yellow can - I think I got it from Homebase. It still needs a bit of elbow grease though to get it off.

Look for a razor scraper - £2ish on eBay, v easy & quick.

Thank you all for these great ideas.

Don't want to risk a scraper (very old windows, listed building, ) but going to try all the others.

Scraper is the best and quickest , keep the blade tight to the glass.
Cooking oil, furniture polish, surgical spirit etc none of that will touch gloss paint (which I assume it is.)
Always, always remove the masking tape when the paint is wet.
There is no 'special masking tape ' to stop this happening . If you leave the tape on till the paints dry this is what happens, you also risk lifting bits of paint from the window as you remove the tape .

As other have said, a razor blade scraper will do it, use a new blade and keep it close to the glass, won't hurt it. Where I live, they don't mask windows, just paint and scrape the paint off the glass afterwards.

I have got some adhesive remover, can't remember the brand but it's in a red tin bottle. Brilliant stuff, just dab it on with a dry cloth, leave for a few minutes then wipe it away. Any diy store should have it.

Nail polish remover.

Well, I experimented with a few different options and the quickest and easiest way, by some distance, was...

Furniture polish combined with a scraper with very a sharp and clean new blade.

Thank you all, particularly those who reassured me about scrapers. Would never have risked it without this thread!

lighter fluid believe it or not, we used to use it all the time to clean up work.

OH is a painter and decorator - he swears by sugar soap for everything. I cleaned my nan's grimy kitchen with it once and I tell you....amazing