Rear window replacement

[bryanlister]

The garage who sold me my Chimp put a sticker advertising themselves on the back window of the car. After putting the hood up and down on hot days, the sticker became creased and eventually split up into lots of sticky pieces. I managed to get some of these bits off on another hot day when the glue was softer and using some methylated spirits - but the kind of sticker is more like those ones that people used to put in their cars saying ''Police - Stop me if you see this car out after 9.00 o''clock'' - that are designed to be permanent. I am at a loss as to anything else I can do to shift this unsightly mess - other than get the rear window replaced - the hood is in otherwise mint condition so it does not make much sense to get the whole lot retrimmed at about £600. Has anyone taken advantage of the window replacement service that some dealers advertise for about £100 + VAT. Just interested to know - do they fit properly, do they use the same stiching holes, do they leak???????

[.mark]

Bryan, try to find a local friendly computer engineer, he will almost definately have something called Iso-Propanol (or similar) this stuff gets rid of all gluey messes. Two points to remember though: 1. Don't sniff it, or sniff it, I think it's still legal 2. Check it on a small area first, it MAY discolour/melt the screen

[bryanlister]

Thanks Mark. I have a friend at ICI who can probably get some. I have tried all sorts of things - problem is the little bits of the stick are well and truly welded on. Solvents don't seem to be able to get behind the sticker (or through it)if you get my drift. That's why I am thinking about something more radical. Thanks for the idea though - anything is worth a try!

[Sparks]

Have you tried a hair dryer or a boiling kettle? If not be carefull you don't damage the plastic. The key (as I'm sure you know) is to get the sticker off, then use the solvent to remove any glue residue Sparks

[bryanlister]

Thanks Sparks - yes done both of those. I have one of those wallpaper strippers that you can fit a steam cleaning nozzle onto. Unfortunately, the temperature required to remove the sticker makes the window go soft and prone to stretching when scraping the sticker off. I can't win!

[apache]

RS do an aerosol called label remover, spray it on and leave it for a bit, it's worked on everything I've tried it on. It smells of oranges too so if it doesn't work your car will smell nice Edited by apache on Monday 13th August 11:09

[bryanlister]

Thanks Apache - where or how can I get in contact with RS - sounds promising! I have tried some stuff from Betterware (needs dicate) call 'Sticky Stuff Remover' (oo er) - that smelt a little like oranges, did not work - but is has been useful around the house.

[pete]

Try oil of eucalyptus. It's relatively kind to plastic, but will remove almost anything sticky. I've used it in the past to get tar off clothes and paintwork, and it worked a treat removing my Le Mans campsite pass from my windscreen! Cheerio, Pete

[ATG]

Following on from Pete's thoughts, have you tried acupuncture?

[Roy C]

quote:Try oil of eucalyptus.....it worked a treat removing my Le Mans campsite pass from my windscreen!

Wow! It must be pretty powerful stuff to break down that 'orrible French glue (a mixture of CJD & BSE I think).