Sticky stuff remover

[Beastlee]

Someone has previously fitted lens adjusters to the headlamps that have only partially been removed. When I bought it there was an additional layer of sticky stuff on top of a plastic layer. I managed to use some very unpleasant stuff that removed the sticky stuff but the plastic layer is still stuck on and refuses to come off in one piece.
If the lenses were glass I would have no problems with using a stanley blade to remove them but there's no way I'm scratching them like that. Does anyone have any tips for removing the plastic and remaing sticky stuff that doesn't involve 3 days of peeling and wiping? Incidentally, if I remove the headlamps do I need to re-align them when refitting or should they sit back where they were as no adjusters are moved?

Thanks
Lee

[Crickle]

Nail Polish remover removes some glues. Have you tried that?

[Nick Mann]

Use a plastic knife or something? I have used T-cut on my headlamps to remove some of the pebble rash. That worked reasonably well.

[BraindG]

hairdryer!

[Beastlee]

It's the removing of the plastic sticky label that I need to achieve. Chrissy's idea is fantastic for the sticky remains but the 'label' part of it comes of in 1mm x 3mm strips and is about 10cm x 8cm in size....you can see how long it will take to remove.

Nick will use the ice scraper on it and see, it's plastic.

Barry, tried that but didn't soften it enough.

Having just been reading through Bal's old posts I think he is the culprit when he took it to...Berlin of all places, seems it's destined for Germany!

[BraindG]

ah so they been on a while then.. actually, just remembered.... when i removed wouters from his headlights i used t-cut a cloth and loads of elbow grease.

[CANDEE]

There is a product over here called Desolveit. Its a citrus based sticky remover.

[Gazzor]

I used Meguires scratch remover to get some glue type kind of remains on my clocks, nothing else worked, tried hair dryers, nail varnish remover, thiners, t-cut and various household cleaners, good luck

[SGHOM]

ac·e·tone (ăs'ĭ-tōn')
n.
A colorless, volatile, extremely flammable liquid ketone, CH3COCH3, widely used as an organic solvent.

be careful though !!

[philipbennett25]

RS sells a sticky stuff remover. Pretty good, even disolves that extra strong double sided tape. rswww.com

[Nutter_John]

ac·e·tone (ăs'ĭ-tōn')
n.
A colorless, volatile, extremely flammable liquid ketone, CH3COCH3, widely used as an organic solvent.

be careful though !!

also good at removing paint

[Beastlee]

Derek, I used some Methyl Ethyl Ketane(MEK), click me for the nasty info, that they have at work, big warning sickers and labels all of the show, worked perfectly for the sticky stuff but the plastic converter bit stayed in place. I decided it may have a detrimental effect on the lens so stopped there. I may return to it once I get the plastic scraper to them.

Thanks for the options folks.

[Roadie]

Google label remover... it really does do what it says on the can :-D

[Crickle]

OH GOD, why not just try scraping it off with your teeth! Works on nail polish lol

[VR-04-TT]

Try eucalyptus oil.

[Xeroid]

Turpentine, works great on paint etc, leaves the paint safe as but dissolves the glue easy. Excellent on tar spots as well btw.
Turpentine is a distillate from heated wood, not a petro based compound.

[BraindG]

is it off yet?

[Beastlee]

Not yet, this bloody rain is a nuisance. I did wash it again yesterday though and the rain does help the rinsing the super hard warter off it here.
One of todays tasks, after changing the rear pads on the SAAB.

[Xeroid]

Try the turps first, acetone melts some plastics, not sure about Methyl Ethyl Ketone.
Another which tends to attack and ball up the gooey stuff is Isopropyl Alcohol and that's ok for plastics. Soak it on with a cloth thenn rub with your fingers.

Still reckon turps is best