Thread: how do you remove old masking tape

Last year I removed some plastic tape that had been on my windows for about 27 years and I just used a Razor Blade scraper. If the glue is still left eucalyptus oil should remove it.

You might want to be careful when you pull the tape off that you don't pull any paint off that might have covered the edge of the tape. Perhaps a slice with a sharp knife along the corner would help. Then some turps or as Bazza says, some eucalyptus oil should get rid of the adhesive.

I wouldn't suggest using turps (MIneral Turpentine), ordinary Kerosene would be a better bet (and heaps cheaper than Eucy Oil).

Turps is fairly high in aromatics and will attack enamel a lot quicker than Kerosene, kero doesn't smell very nice though.

I was cleaning off some of that shiny brown packing tape yesterday off some drawers that had been in storage for 7 years, disppeared like snow before the sun with kero.

Another alternative to turps etc is to use "shellite". This is a flammable liquid like kero etc but with virtually no smell. It is very good at removing oils (wear gloves if you don't want the oils stripped from your hands), glues etc. Costs about $4 - $5 per litre at the supermarket / hardware. Also it dries quickly so doesn't leave a mess needing to be wiped up etc.

You could use "Zoff" - Its used by the medical field to remove adhesive from bandages. Available from the chemist.

woodcutta

White Spirits removes all things sticky or greasy