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Home / Cleaning Guides / Automotive / Exterior And Glass / How to Remove Stickers and Decals from a Windshield

How to Remove Stickers and Decals from a Windshield

Table of Contents:
  1. You Will Need
  2. Steps to Remove the Decals
  3. Additional Tips and Advice

Sue asked: How do I remove an ID sticker from the inside of the windshield? Our city annually provides an access sticker for the front windshield. I don’t know how to remove last year’s sticker. It is translucent and sticks very securely.

Whether it’s a city sticker, parking or inspection decal, these windshield stickers are meant to last. The adhesives used are strong and require a liquid remover that will weaken the bond in order to be removed.

You Will Need:

  • Adhesive remover (choose one)
    • Goo Gone
    • Windex
    • Rubbing alcohol
    • WD-40
    • Acetone
    • Lacquer thinner
  • Razor blades
  • Plastic scrapers

Steps to Remove the Decals:

  1. Begin by working a corner of the decal loose with your fingernail or plastic scraper.
  2. Gently pull the decal off in a diagonal direction. Move slowly to remove as much as possible until the decal tears. You will be able to remove more of newer decals with this method.
  3. Once no more decal can be removed or if the decal is so old and stuck that the above steps haven’t worked, continue with an adhesive remover.
  4. Choose a product from the list above.
  5. Spray or spread the product onto the decal.
  6. Allow it to set for a few minutes so it can be absorbed by the adhesive. Do not allow it to dry on the surface.
  7. Use the razor blade or plastic scraper to carefully scrape away the rest of the decal. If using a razor blade, use caution not to damage the glass. There are special razor blade handles that are made specifically for scraping stickers off of windshields. You can find them at most hardware and automotive stores.
  8. Reapply more adhesive remover to help ease the bond between the decal and the glass.
  9. Once the sticker is removed, use a soft cloth with one of the adhesive removers to remove any sticky residue from the window.

Additional Tips and Advice

  • There are sticker shields that are designed to allow for easier removal. These are available at some automotive stores and online.

Cleaning Guides, Exterior And Glass

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About the Author

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Susan

I'm a stay-at-home mom who used to run a small housecleaning business. These days I consider myself more or a mad cleaning-scientist. I do most of the testing for our articles - as well as helping Mark & Melanie write them.

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Comments

  1. Joe says

    December 2, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    I’ve had success in removing stickers and decals from vehicles by using a hair dryer to soften the adhesive. Then one’s fingernail or a plastic knife or scraper can be used to gradually scrap away the offending material. Keeping the sticker warm throughout the removal process is the key. The same procedure is helpful in removing masking tape that’s been left on too long.

    Reply
  2. Rakhee says

    January 14, 2015 at 7:51 am

    Thanks Joe. Your advice worked the best, almost like magic. 🙂

    Reply
  3. Jerrytee says

    August 3, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    OK—I started with the hair dryer, then after a corner started to get loosened, I used a plastic blade (did not work too well), so I got a single edge blade to continue. That got rid of most of the decals (I had six). Gave the window glass a final single edge blade, then some WD-40, then some Windex—All went well…

    Reply
  4. Paul D says

    August 16, 2015 at 11:42 am

    I used WD-40 on a couple of areas of glue where stickers had been removed sometime back (1-2 years) from the windshield of my truck. Sprayed it on and spread it around to make sure it kinda covered the whole area, waited 5 minutes and it came right off with the help of my scraper. I applied Windex to clean it and now you couldn’t tell there ever was a glue area. Thanks!

    Reply
  5. Marina says

    September 3, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    I can’t take my old sticker off my windscreen. What should I do?

    Reply

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