How to remove leftover double-tape and sellotape marks after Christmas?

Question

During Christmas, we have to decorate our office team bay and we use lots and lots of tape to make it stick longer. After celebration days, while taking down all the decorations, sellotape, and double-sided tape marks stay there. Any hack to remove these marks easily and quickly?

We don't really have to clean it ourself but office cleaning guys never do that properly and those stains stay there forever. So it's better if we can do it ourself with an easy lifehack.

Surfaces are of metal, fabric and wall. Rubbing them is more time consuming and hectic. Looking for easy tricks,

Answer 1

On metal, plastic or glass, try using vegetable oil. Obviously this is no good for untreated wood or paper because of stains.

When I removed old sticky tape from around the edge of an old sweet tin, this left a sticky residue. Rubbing this with a kitchen paper towel dabbed in olive oil, then washing it, worked well for me.

Benefits: cheap, easily available - and no noxious chemicals.

Answer 2

At work I have the use of a spray called 'seal and bond remover' which is designed for professional use where sticky tape and other sealers have to be removed.

Having used it on years old sticky tape, partly with the plastic film still there, as well as on newer glue remains of sticky tape, I can assure you that it works.

Even if the same product is not available where you are, (likely as we are in different countries) there might be an other prof spray or fluid on the market.

Otherwise, old glue remains from sticky tape can be removed from almost all grounds by scratching. But you will have to be careful, your scratching tool should be softer than the surface you need to clean and there should not be sharp corners which can do damage even when not that hard.

Answer 3

I suggest you perform the following:(already taking surface as glass)

• Divide the entire job among different people.
• Trust everyone with tissue papers and a water sprayer like these(with water)
• For the surfaces like glass, you can apply water first and rub with tissue paper to remove gum left back.
• The more members do it, time required becomes less. At the same time it can be made a group based competition.
• For surfaces like metal and wall, you could use the same method. You may need to rub with some force.
• For fabric, you could hide it with some curious which seems to be attracting great attention.

Answer 4

For hard, sturdy surfaces: Stoddard solvent (white spirits) will deal with a lot of recalcitrant glues - acetone will deal with all of them, but is usually a bad idea to use on plastic or painted surfaces (it is aggressive enough to clean the paint off things!)...

Answer 5

I use WD40 -its an aerosol full of lubricating spray that is really good at dissolving tape glue when sprayed on, leave for a few moments then rub with a paper towel. If the surface is vertical, you can spray some WD40 on a square of toilet paper and then put that on the glue.

Do not use it on fabric. It works on plastics and metal