Stickers on book jackets

Hello All,

I have been purchasing some older reprints which are made in England, however the imported volumes have US BarCode stickers pasted over the ones printed on the back of the jackets which do not look very nice. Does anyone have a sure-fire method of removing these stickers without damaging the jackets?

Frank

Nothing is "sure-fire". Depends on the adhesive, the material of the book jacket, etc.

Check out this earlier thread: https://www.librarything.com/topic/9726

I use a hair dryer on low for about a minute and then it usually peels right off.

Doing this for about 33 years, I'm not a fan of:

* hair dryers

* expensive solvents like UnDo or GooGone (they leave oils and/or scents that are probably not good long-term)

What I do use and recommend are:

* rubber cement thinner (if you can find it) — try Amazon with the brand shown below, Dr. Edingtons Rubber Cement Thinner

* Ronsonol lighter fuel (formerly called "lighter fluid") — sometimes available in grocery stores but certainly in "smoke shops"

These evaporate quickly and do not harm book surfaces or paper surfaces. Test first, of course. They are flammable and noxious so use in a well-ventilated area away from flames.

Fold a paper towel in quarters. Dampen it with the solvent to fill an inch or two area. Daub the sticker so it looks wet. With a not-too-sharp knife, see if you can get under the corner. Dampen the sticker again as necessary. After the sticker is removed, wipe the surface with a solvent-dampened paper towel to get up the residue.

James

I use a product called "151 Sticker Remover", which contains Isoparaffinic Hydrocarbon and D-Limonene. It works well in my experience. In the UK it's readily available, and cheap, in hardware shops, Pound shops, etc. It also removes tar from smoking. I've also used acetone-based nail varnish remover, but you need to get a cheap one that doesn't have added oils or scents.