How to Remove Stickers from Glass Quickly and Safely

Remove Stickers from Glass

We often learn how to remove stickers from glass the hard way. Our trial and error leads to bleeding fingers and scratched glass – and still failing to get the stickers off the glass. I know the frustration you feel when you try to painstakingly chip away at the license sticker on your car’s windshield.

It seems to take forever and never really seems to totally come off. You end up compromising and driving around with annoying sticker residue constantly catching your attention. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Like most things in life, there are smart methods and workarounds to get difficult things done.

Our guide takes a look at the right way to get those resilient stickers off the glass. I’ll give you some tips along the way to make the whole process faster and safer. I’ll give you some options with tools you’ll need to buy, and a couple with DIY tools you’re likely to find lying around the house.

You’ll also find a breakdown of the steps you need to follow to get the stickers off the glass without doing any damage to the glass – and your fingers! We’ll look at some of the different types of stickers, and the approach you’ll need to get them off. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all task and takes a little planning.

I’ll also give you a couple of important points on what to avoid and some warning signs you might come across along the way. By the end of the guide, you should feel well-equipped and comfortable enough to go and remove various types of stickers from various types of glass. You’ll get all the information you need here, and will even be able to teach it to others.

Let’s get into the guide!

How to Remove Stickers from Glass

I could just tell you one method and a couple of steps to follow and you’ll be able to remove any sticker from any glass – but that simply wouldn’t be true.

There are several different types of stickers, ranging from license stickers for your car, through to vinyl stickers and warranty stickers.

They’re designed to last a long time and to endure the harsh elements. It would be shortsighted to think you could just go in bare-handed and rip them off.

This section will go into the most common types of stickers and how to remove them from the most common types of glass.

How to Remove Stickers from Car Glass

Car glass is the most common type of glass you’ll be dealing with when learning how to remove stickers from glass. Here are some of the common methods for removing stickers from glass.

• Removing Stickers from Glass with Window Cleaner

  Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A new razor blade
  • Some good quality window cleaner
  • A microfiber cloth (not steel wool)

  Here are the steps you should follow to remove the sticker safely:

  • Spray the window cleaner onto the sticker
  • Make sure you cover the whole sticker with a decent amount of the cleaner
  • Let in settle and sink in for 30 seconds
  • Use the razor to lightly lift or chip away at the sticker
  • Slowly peel the sticker off
  • You can expect it to tear along the way
  • Spray more window cleaner and repeat the steps
  • Use the microfiber cloth to clean up the remaining residue

• How to Remove Stickers from Glass with Rubbing Alcohol

  You need to apply the rubbing alcohol to the sticker 5-10 minutes before attempting to peel off the sticker.

  You can use a razor blade if you need to. Just be sure to keep it parallel to the surface of the glass and ever try to dice up the sticker – this will just scratch the windshield.

  The sticker should come off easier than it did with the window cleaner method.

  Use a microfiber cloth at the end to clean up the residue.

• How to Remove a Sticker from Glass with Ice

  I’m sure this one caught your attention. It’s a pretty smart trick to teach your friends too.

  All you need to do is to take a pack of ice and place it over the sticker. It’ll work better if you have a block of ice that touches the whole sticker.

  The goal of this is to cool the adhesive and then use a razor blade to quickly peel it off.

  Once the sticker is off, you’ll need a strong microfiber cloth to clean up the remaining residue.

• How to Remove a Sticker from Glass with Vinegar

  This works pretty much the same way that the rubbing alcohol method does.

  You’ll need to lather the vinegar all over the sticker – be generous – a few minutes beforehand. Let it soak into the sticker and then place another layer.

  You can take a razor blade to the sticker and gradually take it off.

  As with the other methods, you can finish up with a microfiber cloth to clean up the remaining residue.

  If you’re having trouble getting the remaining residue off, use the Goo Gone residue remover, or simply use the razor again.

How to Remove Stickers from Glass Windows

This process is pretty similar to removing stickers from the windshield of your car.

You’ll need to get some elbow grease, rubbing alcohol, a credit card or razor blade, and a good quality cleaning cloth (preferably microfiber).

Spray the window cleaner/rubbing alcohol onto the window on and around the sticker. Spray a good amount – you want to soak the sticker.

Let it soak in for 20-30 minutes.

Come back at it with a razor blade (or credit card if you aren’t too keen on using the razor blade) and start to scrape off the sticker.

It should give way and start to peel off slowly. Use some elbow grease and the cloth to get rid of the remaining sticky residue.

How to Remove Vinyl Stickers from Glass

Vinyl stickers are particularly tough to remove from glass. You’ll need to get a hairdryer or a heat gun and a razor blade.

Use the heat gun/hairdryer to heat up one corner of the sticker until it starts to come slightly loose. This should take around 30-45 seconds depending on the size of the vinyl. Use the razor blade and start to slowly and carefully lift off the heated corner.

Take the lifted corner in your hands and slowly start to lift it off the window’s surface. You should be heating the part of the sticker you’re trying to remove.

If it’s too hot, you can always use a set of pliers to lift the sticker off while heating the sticker. Clean the remaining residue up with some window cleaner and a good cloth.

P.S. These steps will work if you’re learning how to remove decals from glass doors and how to remove stickers from wall surfaces.

How to Remove Old Stickers from Glass

Old stickers are really annoying to remove from glass. They break apart easily and stick better than cotton candy in a hot frying pan. It’ll take more work than most other stickers to remove, but it can be done flawlessly.

Just follow along with our tips to see how it’s best done:

This works really well if you increase the amount of vinegar you put into the mix – it does a great job at breaking down the adhesive. This also works great if you’re trying to learn how to get a sticker of a mirror. It leaves no marks behind and reduces the amount of scraping that needs to be done.

How to Remove Glue from Window Panes

Here are a couple of ingredients that you could use to remove glue from window panes:

All you need to do is soak a paper towel in the liquid of your choosing, set it over the glue, and leave it for 30 minutes. Come back to it and wipe it all away. It might take a couple of tries to get it done, so repeat the process as many times as needed.

Final Thoughts

You should now feel ready to remove most types of stickers from different glass and wall surfaces. Some of these steps will take a little longer to complete than others. At times it can be quite frustrating as stickers can be unbelievably stubborn. You’ll need to repeat many of the steps several times before having the surface clean and looking good.

You’ll be able to teach your friends and family how to remove the stickers from their windshields without causing any scratches or damage. You can be confident that your surfaces won’t be damaged if you carefully follow the steps laid out in this guide.

Take what you’ve learned on how to remove stickers from glass and go practice it a couple of times – you’ll be ripping stickers off clean in no time!