this post was submitted on 27 Jan 2025

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Any tips or tricks for sticker removal? (marked NSFW for Nazi-Symbolism) (lemmy.blahaj.zone)

submitted 1 month ago by SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/inperson@slrpnk.net

NSFW 40 comments fedilink hide all child comments

If it doesnt fit into this community, be so kind and point me in the right direction if possible.

So, in case this post fits here:

This situation has gone on for a few days. Recently a ticket machine here in germany got covered in fascist stickers, showing the flag of Nazi-Germany [Flag of Nazi Germany] and propagating Ideals of the "white-power-movement". I believe the picture speaks for itself. The stickers were removed a few days ago, but returned shortly after. (Picture shows second installment) Today I took some time out of my day to remove them, but it was quite a strenous process. Thats why I came here to ask for any ideas concerning the removal, or general thoughts on the situation. I know that it's an uphill battle, since putting new stickers down is a process of seconds, but it also feels terrible to do nothing. Any help is appreciated!

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[–] Tippon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I believe that WD40 helps to break down the glue, but its been a while since I've had to remove stickers.

More importantly though, don't remove them with your bare hands. There were posts over on Reddit about a year or two back where far right stickers had been put up with razor blades under them, so that anyone trying to remove them would cut their fingers.

It was Reddit, so there's a decent chance that the post was bullshit, but why risk it?

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks for the Heads-up. I had a friend of mine relay their concerns about that to me aswell, don't know where they got that info though.

So far at least there where no traps to be found, but you're right, better not risk it!

WD-40 comes quite cheap, so that might be another option. Next Paycheck there will be some unusual orders coming from my account xD

[–] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oils in general tend to help dissolve the adhesives used for stickers and labels. You can use vegetable oil to help remove residue from repurposed food jars.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oils are most likely the most cost effective solution, but that would be quite messy to do right? (Not that I would mind enough, to not save a few bucks👀)

[–] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

For removing nazi stickers? Yeah. Things like WD-40 are oil-based and work on the same sort of chemical mechanisms. The suggestions for things like "Goo Gone" might help too.

I was meaning "in general" as "helpful tip as saving money by repurposing things is likely a good idea, especially in this political climate".

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ah, thx for the explanation!

Of course, repurposing as much as possible should be a given, we don't have that many oils laying around though.

[–] nickwitha_k@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 month ago (1 children)

No problem. In the kitchen, cooking oils like canola or vegetable oil can do the trick for de-labeling. The oils don't need to be petroleum-based, the adhesives don't know the difference (and I personally prefer using food-safe solvents, finishes, etc).

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 month ago

Okay, that's understandable!

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 13 points 1 month ago (1 children)

if the goal is simply to remove the symbolism, perhaps you could just sticker over them: that makes it equally quick for you to remove the symbols as it is for them to put them up… doesn’t clean up the machine, but it certainly solves the main issue with as little of your energy as possible

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thank you for the input! I might do that in case I don't have time to get all of them removed.

Just hiding them doesn't sit quite right with me somehow. Don't know if that makes sense for you.

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

absolutely makes sense! perhaps you could limit proper clean up to once per week - that way you have a temporary solution to solve the immediate problem quickly, and with minimal energy and then truly invest time and energy when it’s going to benefit

hopefully then stickers will make them give up

[–] Dungrad@feddit.org 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Baseball bats work wonders.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 month ago

I like the enthusiasm, but I am not really one for preemptive strikes. In case shit goes south, the adhesive remover i tried comes in a spray can, and, theoretically, doubles as a flamethrower.

[–] itslilith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Meine Empfehlung wäre einfach eine Flasche Haushaltsspiritus. Etwas weniger stark als Lösemittel als viele der anderen Empfehlungen (WD40, Aceton, verschiedenen Öle...), aber ist dafür absolut rückstandsfrei. Wenn's ein bisschen eingeweicht ist, kann man beschichtete Sticker ganz gut mit der Hand abziehen, und unbeschichtete (wie die meisten dort) mit einem Schwamm o.ä. abreiben, ohne weiteren Schäden zu hinterlassen

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Danke für die Empfehlung. Wollte kurz Nachfragen wie du anhand des Bildes die Unbeschichteten Sticker erkannt hast.

Oder sind das einfach die, die halt tendenziell nicht reißen, so wie ein Plastiketikett auf einer Flasche?

[–] itslilith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago

Letzteres. Wenn die relativ einfach in mehrere Schichten zerfallen, dann sind das die minderwertigen. Die bekommt man ohne Hilfsmittel kaum ab. Ironischerweise je besser der Sticker, desto einfacher abzuziehen

[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 7 points 1 month ago (2 children)

That's "just" the Prussian/German Empire flag, which was also used by the nazis before the swastika flag. With your phrasing I would expect the latter.

Doesn't make it less Nazi though. It obviously is.

[–] Walk_blesseD@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago

Hey now, a couple of them have "NS Zone" printed on them. No prizes for figuring out what that's supposed to mean.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks for the correction! I certainly didn't perform very well in history class, so I just kinda took a look on how it was captioned on Wikipedia.

[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

You aren't all that wrong. It's used by nazis wide and far because the punishment and recognition rate are lower. If you do this with the proper swastika and get caught you are in much worse trouble.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Certainly! I guess an automatic wildlife camera wouldn't be all bad. When it comes to punishment though they did absolutely put down

(What the fuck)

Ku Klux Klan™ White-ass-Power Stickers!

They are not trying to hide shit. XD

[–] SweetCitrusBuzz 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Use an old style razor blade (that can be folded away) or scraping tool with a handle. Saw something like it earlier somewhere and it seemed to work a treat.

Never use your bare hands or get you skin or clothes near them if possible.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Thanks for the reply! Used a set of plastic scrapers for the job, although they were a bit to floppy for my liking. I tried to be as non destructive as possible, using water and some retail adhesive residue remover (which certainly helped, but not as much as I would have liked) I already heard from a friend, that every once in a while, nasty stuff, like razor blades are hidden underneath those. But using one myself might actually be a good Idea, just gotta be careful not to scratch the actual machine ^^'

[–] SweetCitrusBuzz 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Oh yeah, I was thinking of metal not plastic ones which should be more sturdy.

Yeah, the razorblades is why I suggest never getting close to them and having one that folds into the handle, so you can hold the handle and the blade goes out from that, not on top of it, if that makes sense?

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yep, I believe I know the kind. In case I come across stickers like these in the future, I can get some practice in!

[–] SweetCitrusBuzz 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Hope it goes well! Maybe stick your own stickers up instead too.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago

Thank you! I am already in contact with a local group that has a surplus of stickers, so that should go pretty smoothly

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

You want some kind of solvent and a scraper. Isopropyl alcohol is pretty easy to find, and is safe for most surface finishes, but will take longer to dissolve the adhesive than acetone. Lighter fluid like you'd put in a zippo is my personal favorite, but there are obvious safety risks.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A decent scraper will be cared for very soon. And I already got many suggestions for different solvents, that I will hopefully (or hopefully not) get time to try out. I was kind of suspicious about the Zippo fuel, concerning its own residue. Don't those sometimes contain things like petroleum or similar ingredients? The acetone I absolutely get though.

Of course Mission Nr.1 is to get rid of the stickers, but leaving as few marks as possible would also be great

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah, zippo fuel is petroleum naptha. Iso is probably going to be the safest if you're concerned about leaving marks, but also the slowest. Absolutely do not use acetone on hard plastic, it will melt the plastic. I have learned that the hard way, lmao.

Technique is also gonna matter, since a lot of stickers have a plastic coating on top to help longevity, so you'll want to get the scraper under the edge of the sticker so the solvent can directly work on the adhesive. Then let it sit for a moment to soak in, scrape a bit more, add more solvent, repeat. There's probably going to be sticker residue left, but that's usually pretty easy to wipe up with more solvent on a rag.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh, damn xD What did you grind down to its base particles? Hopefully nothing important! The problem is still with the verticality of the entire thing, that makes it kind of annoying to "let it work" cause its gonna flow away pretty fast :/

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 month ago

It was just some old brand stickers I was trying to get off a secondhand printer, nothing too important, lol. Luckily most of the profane stickers I've removed have been on glass or metal.

The verticality will make most of the solvent flow away, but the capilliary action will draw solvent under the sticker. Targeted application and frequent reapplication also helps!

[–] Pot8o@slrpnk.net 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I know I'm late to the party but for getting labels off jars and bottles I make a paste of baking soda and vegetable oil. Spread it over the label, let it sit for a while, wipe off the paste (save it to reuse), then peel off the label and just use soapy water to wash off the remaining oily adhesive mix. I usually leave it sitting for hours because ADHD so I'm not sure what the shortest sit time is. Because the baking soda is a gentle abrasive and carrier for the oil you can use it to scrub the adhesive off too.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Late doesn't matter ^^

I haven't even checked yet, if there even are new stickers already. Thx for the Idea of course, but it's hard to imagine that I could let it sit for a while, since the stuff is on a vertical surface, will try it anyway.

Time will tell.

[–] Pot8o@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah I thought letting it sit might be awkward. I make the paste pretty thick and it generally stays in place without slumping on vertical surfaces. Good luck and keep up the good work!

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

Making it thicker sounds like a plan! And thanks, I'll try and do my part ;)

[–] Kraven_the_Hunter@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Beyond the various oils and things, you need a cordless multitool. They all come with scrapers designed for this sort of thing.

If abrasive marks are ok, then you could also get a wire brush for drills like this

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 month ago

That looks pretty interesting, haven't really considered those yet. I would love to leave as few marks as possible and don't really know how easily that is doable with a multitool. (Haven't used on yet) In case I find someone near me that happens to own one, I will see if it works for that purpose!

[–] CgH10N4Co2@lemmy.cafe 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

A battery powered heat gun would help peel those off.

[–] SnekZone@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

I don't doubt it, but that would a bit to heavy duty for my use case, especially considering the price. If someone I know owns one though, I will ask them if I can borrow it!