Your Best Laptop Sticker Removal Tips

Posted by | 02/15/2009 | 11 Comments

John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

One of my biggest pet peeves are all the stickers that laptop / tablet pc OEMs plaster on the wrist pad of their computers: AMD, Intel, Wacom, Vista, Joe’s Diner – you name it, it’s on there. Come on OEMs – my computer is not on the NASCAR circuit and I don’t remember signing a contract giving you permission to advertise on it. HP, Dell, and Toshiba – I’m looking at you!

Needless to say, the stickers are normally the first things to go when I prep a new computer. Sometimes, the stickers are really easy to peel off. Other times, though, it takes a lot of effort to get all the sticky glue off. Point in case – I just spent an hour removing two stickers from a friends Dell computer. Over the years, I’ve learned that Krud Kutter and WD-40 are the best liquids to cut through all that glue.

What about you? What do you use take back your wristpad?

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Category: Editorials, Hardware

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As the Founding Editor for GottaBeMobile.com, Rob oversaw the growth and overall direction for content, advertising, and management of the site. Keep up with Rob at RobBushway.com Send email to Rob
  • Ryan

    My secret is an orange scented solvent called Goo-Gone. It’s quite possibly the most amazing “sticker goo” remover that I’ve ever used. You just put it on the goo, wait about 10 seconds, and wipe the goo off. It’s like it was never there! You just have to make sure that you wipe up properly afterwards, because it will take just about anything (including finishes) off of your lappy.

  • Joe

    I had a giant ugly “Refurbished” sticker on the bottom of my Dell XT, and after peeling it off as best I could on my own, I used rubbing alcohol and the sticky stuff left behind came right off.

  • http://www.parityodd.com chad

    One more win for Lenovo and my X200 tablet. It didnt come with any stickers on it. Well it has one for engery star which had a pull tab to help remove it.

  • bmhome1

    Another vote for Goo Gone (widely available in drug stores and supermarkets), must have home all-around life-saver.

  • Ben

    I have to correct the above post on Lenovo. My X60 came with 3 but I took them off so long ago, I can’t remember what they were. Chances are, the energy star, and a Vista Capable sticker were 2 of them. I just peeled them off and just slowly worked on them with elbow grease over time. I didn’t take a chance with solvents.

  • HG

    I have used WD-40 in the past but also sometimes use Goof off, not the strong one the water base one; don’t want the finish to come off :)

  • http://leadside.com steve

    The best thing hands down is simple vegetable oil. I use goo gone too, but it does no better than vegetable oil and can be more destructive on those soft plastic parts. After you pick off the sticker to expose the residue, just dab a bit of vegetable oil on a soft cloth (don’t poor it on the device!) and rub for 5 or 10 minutes at most. You’ll have a beautiful surface.

  • John in Norway

    I don’t take stickers off. They remind me, many years later, what’s inside the computer. I’ve even been known to still have the screen protector on some of my small devices many years later. Remember, a scratch isn’t just for Christmas, it’s for life.

  • sbtablet

    I use Goo Gone. Great stuff! My husband considers the stickers part of the computer, and he had a fit when my son wanted to get them off for him. And no, he’s not into NASCAR. I don’t know what gives, but whatever makes him happy.

  • duffyanneal

    Ahhh! Why do you guys insist that some sort of miracle chemical needs to be used? I’ve owned over 50 notebooks over the past few years, and I have NEVER used anything except the sticker to remove the adhesive. Carefully peel off the sticker from one of the corners. If you notice the glue sticking to the palmrest instead of coming off with the sticker just stop. Reapply the sticker and try a different corner or different angle. Eventually, you’ll find a corner you can peel which will remove the majority of the adhesive. It’s likely you’ll still have some adhesive left behind. To remove it use the sticker you just removed. The adhesive on the sticker will bond nicely to the adhesive residue and pull it right off. You might have to do it a few times, but it beats using any chemical on the palmrest which may discolor or remove the paint and it’s free.

  • aswfreak29

    fingernails work quite well actually

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