Sticker removal

Just leave it there. I'm seeing people show up at the trap range with the stickers still on. Sorta like the people wearing flat brim ball caps with the shiny sticker on it. What do I know?

I guess I am behind the times but have never encountered a gun with a sticker on it. Like 1kper day, I would use Hoppe's #9 on it. It is amazing what it will remove. Another feature is that it is a great drilling and tapping fluid, especially for aluminum.

I bought a new Marlin Centennial M39 when they came out. Had a sticker on the forend touting "High Grade American Walnut!" or somesuch. When I peeled off the sticker, the finish came with it. Thanks, Marlin.

WD 40 will take right off ....

Takes stickers off your autos also

Besides water displacement, it's about the only thing I use wd40 for.
3M makes an adhesive remover too, but I've never tried it on a blued surface (good for the residue left after removing badges on your car)

Around the house....

1)Rubbing alcohol
2)WD40
3)Lighter fluid
4)Hoppes

Generally that's the order because that's the order of convenience and ease of use with clean up

For a gun, 4,1,2 and last would be #3 lighter fluid.

Duck branded adhesive remover. Uses Petroleum distillates instead of acetone. I think I usually get mine from Target. I have used it to take off annoying stickers from Savages and Mossbergs etc. No change to the blue.

if there is glue after the sticker is peeled off, believe it or not, peanut butter. apply it as a past and leave it there then clean it off with a rag later. an hour later, a day later. repeat until all the goo is gone. not sure why it works, I think the oil starts to blend with something in the adhesive, and it just wipes off.

Gus Chiggins said:

Just leave it there. I'm seeing people show up at the trap range with the stickers still on. Sorta like the people wearing flat brim ball caps with the shiny sticker on it. What do I know?

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The sticker is supposed to be the certificate of authenticity.

JohnKSa said:

Sticker removal tips.

5. A white plastic eraser (NOT THE ABRASIVE pink or white erasers) will often pick up little bits of rubbery adhesive that are stubbornly sticking to a surface.

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These are also called."Glue Erasers " at some hardware stores.

Good advice here. If you can get the top layer off, then a shot of Goo Gone should do it. If the top layer won't come off, again go to Goo Gone, but give it time to work.
Contrary to what I've tried in the past, something slippery works better than something degreasing (denatured alcohol...). Save that to remove all the residue once the Goo Gone has worked its magic.
Moon

film495 said:

believe it or not, peanut butter.

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Peanut butter gets chewing gum out of hair really well, too.

Fun fact of the day.

As much as I hate the stuff, put me in the WD-40 category. It will also take car dealer stickers off your car.

If polar solvents like alcohol and acetone don't work, try odorless candle & lamp oil. Works on adhesive residues when most others do not.

First I try peeling it off ever so carefully then I use WD40 for any glue them Hoppe’s #9. That has worked for me, except for once.

I bought a pistol at a store in Oregon and they had put a bar code sticker on the frame. I made an attempt at getting this NASA grade decal off and I literally only got a little tiny piece off. I recalled the snotty little gun counter minion that sold me the gun flippantly telling me “We put these on all our guns for ease of inventory tracking. They come right off.” So, I took it to the gun store and told them to get it off and not to mar the finish or I would demand a refund.
They had a gunsmith on site. He called me the next day to come and get my gun. He did get it off without harm to the gun but he said it took and over night bath in Break Free just to get the adhesive to loosen a bit then heat and WD40 for the rest.
Barcode decal use ended that day.

Most of the decals I have encountered were on gun parts, not the guns themselves, especially on AR parts.

Most of the advice given here is valid... Remember that some places on guns (wood stocks to begin with...) won't like some of the solvents suggested... I work with various solvents since I make all of the fishing rods my customers use (full time fishing guide) as well as all the annual stickers I'm required to have on my skiff... I start by very carefully and slowly trying to peel as much of the sticker off as possible and will use an old credit card edge on remaining decals that won't pull free. Then it's first rubbing alcohol and elbow grease - then mineral spirits on a clean rag for any remaining adhesive on plastics or metal... If that doesn't work the next step is lacquer thinner - but be careful here since the stuff will remove paint, varnish, and other finishes... Anything with acetone in it will be an absolutely last resort since it will remove stuff even better than lacquer thinner...

If all else fails - before using something powerful... it's probably a good idea to use it on a small spot somewhere not visible in case...

heat gun.