Sellotape Marks

[swingtoneman]

I have removed a pickup from a guitar which was secured to the top with sellotape. The sellotape has been removed and has left sticky marks. What substance would you use to remove those marks without causing damage to the finish?

[mwcarr]

Vegetable oil. I've never used it in on a musical instrument but have in other things. Pretty innocuous stuff.

[grahambop]

WD-40 is very good at removing this kind of thing, but I don't know if it would be adviseable to use it on a guitar.

[fritz jones]

wd 40 destroys lacquer. I think isopropyl alcohol would work

[sgosnell]

Lighter fluid and acetone both work for this, and don't affect nitrocellulose. There is also a product called Goo-Gone, which is, AFAICT, lighter fluid in a different can. I've used it on a number of guitars with good results. Do not confuse this with Goof-Off and other similar stuff, which are different compounds, I wouldn't use them at all. I've never had much luck with alcohol for removing this type residue. It may eventually get it off, but it takes lots of rubbing. It doesn't really dissolve the residue, it just hardens it a little so it's somewhat easier to scrape off. Lighter fluid is the classic method, it's been used for decades, but less now that fewer people use it for anything.

[neatomic]

yuck! that's why they invented low tack painters tape!



stew mac even sells a super low tack version

Low Tack Protective Tape | stewmac.com

luck

cheers

[Jabberwocky]

It depends on how tacky the residue is. The best way to remove adhesive tape residue is with...adhesive tape.

Invest in a roll of 3M Scotchtape. The frosted type works well. It has to be 3M because of the quality of the glue 3M uses. Take a small tab, sticky side out, and dab on a glue residue spot and with a very quick sharp motion pull it off. The residue should adhere to the fresh adhesive of the 3M tape and with some diligence come off when you pull off the tape.

(I take a short strip, one end is stuck to my index, the other to my thumb. The middle part is the business end with the sticky side out. You form a pinched U-shaped dabbing pad with it. The motion has to be quick. As soon as you feel the tape catch the glue residue, you pull off sharply. The old glue residue should catch the fresh tape and come off the surface cleanly. Don't press the tape on to the surface. It won't work that way. You can actually see a small flash of fluorescence when you pull off the tape when the light level is low enough.)

It takes a lot of elbow grease with a large surface like yours. You will need to work a small area at a time. Use lots of fresh tape. Take off what you can. Leave the stubborn spots for later.

I have pulled old tape residue off lacquered surfaces, the glossy covers of books, vinyl covers, record sleeves, with no traces of it having been there using fresh adhesive tape. You want the fresh tape to lightly catch the residue and pull it off. You don't want the new tape to adhere to the lacquered surface. Dab. Sharp pull. Dab. Sharp pull.

Anything that dissolves the glue will very likely smear it around the surface, making a bigger mess.

As for the stubborn spots, keep at it with fresh tape. You may have to tackle them another day. Sometimes, continual dabbing lifts the stubborn old glue residue slightly. Letting it rest seems to weaken the bonds and tackling it another day allows you to remove what was stubborn before.

[pubylakeg]

Lemon oil will get rid of it.

[Bobby Marshall]

My luthier always says naphtha but I think he is an expert at using it properly without destroying the finish.

[sgosnell]

Ronsonol is naptha, and it doesn't need an expert to use it. It does not affect the finish.

[Bobby Marshall]

Ronsonol is naptha, and it doesn't need an expert to use it. It does not affect the finish.

I don't know much then.

[Ol' Fret]

+1 for naphtha - professional violin makers and restorers of delicate furniture use it for more than 200 years.

The problem is that naphtha is a broad, vague term for any mixture of gas condensates, or distillates of petroleum or coal tar: paraffinic and naphthenic hydrocarbons (C5 - 12). Other common terms for naphtha are white spirit or petroleum ether.

I get my naphtha from Kremer Pigmente in South Germany, one of the most reputable brand names for painters, restorers or violin makers. To be exact: I love these guys because they uphold a range of real quality products for artists that are hard to find anywhere elsewhere (no other affiliation with them than just being a satisfied customer).
AFAIK, they have a branch in NYC (don't know how long this will actually make sense for a non-American Company), but they used to ship worldwide.

- Light naphtha: Siedegrenzbenzin 60/95 Petrolether | Losemittel | Losemittel, Chemikalien & Hilfsmittel | Kremer Pigmente GmbH & Co. KG
- Heavy naphtha: Siedegrenzbenzin 100/140 | Losemittel | Losemittel, Chemikalien & Hilfsmittel | Kremer Pigmente GmbH & Co. KG (http://www.kremer-pigmente.com/media/pdf/70400e.pdf )

The lower the fraction boiling point, the more volatile the stuff is. I use both of the mentioned naphthas.

Can you affect the finish of a priceless musical instrument with naphtha? Hard to imagine, but nothing is foolproof...
New to me is that Kremer is entitled to sell this stuff only to professional users - probably due to the madness of EU bureaucracy.

[deacon Mark]

Do not use acetone that removes the finish and is used to take off nitro finishes. I would go with naphtha and then use auto polish swirl remover.

[Jabberwocky]

If you are going to use naptha, make sure that the cleaning cloth does not scuff the finish with fine marks.

I have used naptha. It softened the glue and smeared around the substrate what it could not remove completely. I finally removed the smeared glue with the 3M Scotchtape pecking method. The 3M tape just lifts the old glue residue off the surface cleanly. If the old glue has hardened, naptha to soften it first and then lift off with 3M tape.

Try it if you have not already. It takes effort but you get no glue traces. Use a fresh roll of 3M Scotchtape. Costs as much as a can of Ronsonol and smells a whole lot better.

This is going to call for patience.

[swingtoneman]

Thank you for all your suggestions. Tried lemon oil---did the trick! Minimum of effort to get rid of all sticky marks. No damage to finish--as good as new.

[pubylakeg]

Thank you for all your suggestions. Tried lemon oil---did the trick! Minimum of effort to get rid of all sticky marks. No damage to finish--as good as new.

Very glad to hear it.
Twice now, I've had to remove bridges to correct intonation, which were fixed with double sided sticky tape to a nitro finish. The lemon oil just basically dissolved the sticky residue from the tape. Very handy !.

[sgosnell]

I don't understand why anyone would use tape under a bridge. That's silly and completely amateurish. It's unnecessary, and interferes with the needed contact between the bridge and the top. If you're really concerned with not being able to get the bridge back in the proper location, just pin it by screwing the adjustment screws down through the bottom of the bridge and the top, like Epiphone does on the ES-175. It ain't pretty, but it will result in a better tone than you'll get with tape. But the best thing is to just leave the bridge loose. I use some masking tape when I change strings, one strip on each side of the bridge, and use that to show me where the bridge goes back. I may have to move the bridge a little for intonation if I use different strings, but that's easy enough to do. With tape or a pinned bridge, that's not feasible.

[pubylakeg]

I don't understand why anyone would use tape under a bridge. That's silly and completely amateurish. It's unnecessary, and interferes with the needed contact between the bridge and the top. If you're really concerned with not being able to get the bridge back in the proper location, just pin it by screwing the adjustment screws down through the bottom of the bridge and the top, like Epiphone does on the ES-175. It ain't pretty, but it will result in a better tone than you'll get with tape. But the best thing is to just leave the bridge loose. I use some masking tape when I change strings, one strip on each side of the bridge, and use that to show me where the bridge goes back. I may have to move the bridge a little for intonation if I use different strings, but that's easy enough to do. With tape or a pinned bridge, that's not feasible.

The best thing is, the tape was put there either by the distributor, or a high volume, prestige dealer (during a so called set-up) here in the UK.

Nevermind. Here's a great clip on precision bridge placement, (go to 8m 50s).

[snailspace]

I've never used this on a guitar, but I have used it to remove stickers from the doors and furniture in my kids' bedrooms. It's citrus-based, and didn't do any damage to the things on which I used it. Recommended to me by my go-to guy at the local hardware store.

http://www.de-solv-it.com/

[Jabberwocky]

And there I was pecking away with fresh adhesive tape!

Gotta do it the hard way! No pain, no gain.

[snailspace]

Thank you for all your suggestions. Tried lemon oil---did the trick! Minimum of effort to get rid of all sticky marks. No damage to finish--as good as new.

That's great -- glad you found something that worked!