How To Remove Stickers from Record Album Covers

Posted by Lisa Summer - http://www.justcoolrecords.com/2014/06/how-to-remove-stickers-from-record.html on 5th Jul 2014

Heads up vinyl junkies! Today I'd like to share with you a way to remove those nasty price stickers from your precious album cover--WITHOUT DAMAGING THEM! I know, I know, I've done it too, plenty of times, and ruined an otherwise great looking cover all in the name of either impatience, ignorance or sheer stubbornness thinking I could remove it carefully without peeling a part of the cover picture overlay off. Well, no more of that I say...read on!

THE TOOLS:

1. Lighter fluid (yes, I know, it sounds terrifying, but TRUST ME). It works amazingly well, and it's CHEAP.

2. Exact-O Knife (or tweezers would work great too)

3. A soft, absorbent cloth or paper towel

4. Q-tips (optional)

STEP 1:

You'll want to be doing this on a very flat surface first of all. No, wait, FIRST of all, REMOVE THE RECORD AND IT'S SLEEVE FROM THE COVER. Thank you.

Saturate the sticker with lighter fluid CAREFULLY, it will come out of the spout very quickly--so watch it. Make sure you get the whole sticker thoroughly wet with fluid. The fluid will start to run/bleed quickly--don't panic, it's ok--wipe off with your cloth or paper towel. Fluid will immediately start to soak into the sticker, then begin to evaporate.

STEP 2:
When the fluid has nearly 'dried' (less than a minute), take your Exact-O knife (or tweezers) and gently pry up a corner or edge of the sticker to see if it will come off easily.

If it looks like the sticker won't come off cleanly or very easily--no worries--do step one again. Re-saturate, and wait for fluid to evaporate. It should come off really easily and cleanly.

STEP 3:
Depending on the type of glue, the kind of paper and what kind of cover you have (matte and textured or glossy) there may be a little glue left behind. This is where the Q-Tips come in handy. Put some fluid on either your cloth/towel or Q-tip and rub in a circular motion to remove any stubborn glue or bits of sticker left behind. Most all stickers I have found come off without this step, but I've added it here because there are so many variables; how the record was stored, how old the record/sticker is, paper and glue types, etc.

Now. If you see what looks like an 'oil spot' or residue from the fluid on the cover DON'T PANIC this WILL evaporate in time. Unlike alcohol, lighter fluid won't remove any color or texture from the paper. And unlike GooGone, it won't leave a nasty, smelly, oily residue that you'll be stuck with forever. Just let the cover sit for a bit, and it will return to it's original state.

There, now wasn't that slick and easy? This also works great for book covers too, just be careful of very old books that have cloth or thin paper covers. Hope this helps, and hopefully now you won't be deterred from buying any records that have stickers all over them--they can be removed!

Keep spinning that vinyl!