Some pieces of furniture come with annoying warning labels and other stickers that are seemingly superglued to the surface. These stickers are especially difficult to remove from unfinished wood or veneered particleboard without causing damage, which is why you must take special care when attempting to remove them.
❌ Most stain or residue removers are safe to use on particleboard, but you must not use petroleum-based removers as they can leave unsightly stains.
✔️ Here are 4 methods (ordered from most effective to least effective) you can use to remove pesky stickers. To achieve the best possible outcome, perform the methods below before assembly to remove any stickers/labels more easily
METHOD #1:
Use rubbing alcohol.
Most people will have rubbing alcohol in a cupboard somewhere. 70% or higher Isopropyl alcohol is what we recommend - Isocol is a great choice - you can find it in any supermarket or your local pharmacy.
1) Apply some Isopropyl alcohol directly to a clean, dry cloth. Don't go crazy, a little goes a long way!
2) Dab the cloth onto the corners and underside of the sticker. You’ll notice the adhesive dissolving right in front of your eyes!
3) Rubbing alcohol evaporates very quickly, so you may need to add more alcohol to the cloth until you remove the sticker for good.
4) Keep dabbing the cloth until you remove the entire sticker.
METHOD #2:
Use a hairdryer.
Using a hairdryer is an easy method that most people should have access to. Any hairdryer should work, as long as you take care not to over-heat anything.
1) Heat the sticker with a hairdryer on the medium setting
2) Monitor the surface closely to ensure you aren’t over-heating. Failure to do so could cause the veneer to separate from the wood below.
3) While heating the sticker, begin to slowly peel the sticker from the corners.
4) You’ll know when it’s ready to remove as it won’t be putting up a fight letting go of the surface.
If you can’t quite get the sticker all the way off, move to the next method.
METHOD #3:
Use a stain/residue remover. Method not recommended for use on veneer.
This method is one of the most effective, but you must take very special care when using solvents on any wood surface as they can easily cause stains if given enough time to sit on the surface. If in doubt, apply the solvent to a small hidden area of the furniture piece to test.
1) Take some of your chosen chemical and apply it directly to a cloth.
2) Dab the cloth onto the corners and underside of the sticker. You’ll notice the adhesive dissolving right in front of your eyes!
3) Be patient and wait until the chemical does its trick. Keep dabbing the cloth until you've remove the entire sticker.
4) Dry immediately with a clean cloth.
METHOD #4:
Use warm water.
This is the least effective method but should be used as a final step if the above methods still left behind some residue.
1) After moistening a rag with warm water, swipe the rag over any stubborn residue.
2) Immediately dry the surface with a clean cloth.
3) Rub your fingers on any remaining residue to form it into easy to remove balls.
4) Repeat until desirable results achieved.
And there you have it...
That warning sticker is no more!
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