#stickerremoval

So. I hate stickers. As a collector, there is nothing worse than getting your hands on a great disc based game that you have been looking for, and have it be covered in stickers. Game Stop used game price tags are most common, advertisements for coupons or bonus material inside, it is the worst. Drives me absolutely mad. It’s like, come on, you are devaluing the game while trying to sell it. It comes in just behind those people that write their name in permanent black marker on all of their games. How hard is it to keep a game in nice condition?

Apparently it is difficult, because I don’t think I have seen a used game anywhere that didn’t have at least two damn stickers on it. Buying used is a fantastic way to grow your collection without breaking the bank, but man are those used games ugly. I am a crazy person and I want all of the games that are permanently added to my collection to be pristine, clean, and complete. Basically as few scratches as possible on the disc itself, as nice condition of a manual as I can get, no stickers of any kind, and as little scuffing and wear on the outer sleeve and case as possible. As I find games and make deals with people I’ll swap cases and in-sleeves around to put the best possible ones in my permanent collection. In order to accomplish this though, you have got to remove the stickers. They are on 90% of games I find because it is rare to get a game from someone in which they are the first owner. It does happen, but its not often, the newer the game the easier it is, but collecting retro stuff, it does not happen often.

Here are two games entering into my permanent GameCube collection. As such, they will need to have those stickers removed.

Super Monkey Ball, and Mario Golf Toadstool Tour. These are games I have fond memories of, and ones I enjoy playing. They will be a part of my permanent collection, because I have no intention of selling or trading these any time soon.

As you can see, a couple of nice fat stickers on them. One, actually from Electronics Boutique. That is how long ago I bought these. If you’ve read previous posts you know I got these from my dad recently, as I had left them with him for about the last seven years or so. They were even purchased well before that. So these stickers have been on these cases for upwards of a decade.

Fortunately, I have discovered a really reliable way to remove these stickers without the need for chemicals, removers like GooGone, heat guns, or really any tools at all.

Lets walk through the process with Mario Golf. 

What you will need:

A dish/hand towel or washcloth, dampened. It does not need to be wet, just a little damp, it should be no where near wet enough to drip. Next, a roll of clear packing tape for best results, or, barring that, some scotch tape.

First thing is first, open the game up and bend it slightly backwards to get the in-sleeve / cover art out. Also take your manuals and inserts out, we are working with water here at one point so we don’t want any of that to possibly get even the slightest bit wet. It shouldn’t, again, the cloth you have should only be damp, but just in case, take them out.

Use your finger nail or other semi hard plastic object to work up the corner of the sticker. Be firm but make sure not to damage the plastic laminate that holds the in-sleeve.

Get as much of the sticker as you can, go slow, but don’t worry if it leaves a little of the paper behind, in most cases it cannot be helped. That is what we are here to remove anyway. The last bits of paper that linger from almost every sticker removal in the history of sticker removals.

I got most of this one, but a little remained. Par for the course.

Next, take your damp washcloth or towel, and rub it across the leftover sticker until the paper on top is gone, this will leave nothing but the tacky adhesive underneath.

Not easy to see here in this photo, but there is a streak of it there, it should be a little tacky and kind of grab your finger if you touch it.

Next, cut a small piece of the scotch tape, or clear packing tape. I used packing tape here, it is a little stickier, speeding the process up a bit. Take your piece and lay it down over the area...

...and simply pull it up. Gently though, be sure not to stretch or dislodge the plastic cover, ruining your case. That defeats the purpose here. We are trying to save the case and improve it.

See how the adhesive from the sticker is actually being pulled up by the tape? You may have to “blot” the old adhesive many times, but as you do, more and more will come off and stick to the tape. Eventually the case will be completely clean. With no damage to the case whatsoever.

Ah! Like new!

I hope someone finds this useful, like if you did, just to let me know this wasn’t a useless post. This is the simplest way I have found to get stickers off of DVD and jewel cases for games and movies. No GooGone required. 99% of homes have this stuff available already, packing or Scotch tape, and a washcloth or towel. Piece of cake.