How to remove expired tag sticker?

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hooked

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Every year it’s the same struggle with the expired registration sticker that you put on your the license plate. At least in Florida, when you renew your car’s registration, you get a small yellow sticker with the expiration month and year. I always try to take off the old one, but I think they’re designed to be almost impossible to remove in one piece so they can’t be peeled off and put on another car.

Has anyone figured out an easier way of taking these off? I spent 25 minutes the other day trying to get it off. I ended up using a flat head screwdriver and gouging the hell out of the plate. I probably could have taken more time and been more careful, but i wasn’t in the mood. I’ve seen other cars where they just put the new one on a different spot on the tag so they end up with 10 stickers all over it. I don’t think that’s they way it’s supposed to work.

I also had the thought that maybe these would be easier to remove if you just put the new one on top of the old ones so you build up a thick layer and then after a few years, they’ll all come off in one piece. Kind of like Plastidip which is easier to peel off if it is applied with many layers.
 
I live in PA and we had to do the same up until last year. I just carefully placed each sticker on top of the previous ones. I had 9 stacked by the time they said no more stickers.
The more recent ones, say 5 years old or so, came out easily. The really old ones not so much. I used a plastic razor blade and that helped me clean it up but it did leave 2 spots with a small scratch on the plate’s painted surface.
 
BSoares said:
I live in PA and we had to do the same up until last year. I just carefully placed each sticker on top of the previous ones. I had 9 stacked by the time they said no more stickers.
The more recent ones, say 5 years old or so, came out easily. The really old ones not so much. I used a plastic razor blade and that helped me clean it up but it did leave 2 spots with a small scratch on the plate’s painted surface.
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Interesting. What is the system now since the state did away with the stickers? I might just do the stacking thing and eventually they send me a new tag and then start over.
 
I use an X-Atco 1/4" chisel blade that is honed down like a razor. Just be gentle and they will lift. Tad bit of solvent to remove the left over adhesive and all good. Having the license plate 'warm' helps a bunch. 'Nuther words, put it in the sun (or similar) for a bit.

Bill
 
hooked said:
Interesting. What is the system now since the state did away with the stickers? I might just do the stacking thing and eventually they send me a new tag and then start over.
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I guess they realized cops can pull up your plate and check the status anyways. So saves money making and mailing stickers to everyone.
 
On some of our vehicles:
•I just stack ‘em.

On the other ones:
•Heat gun/hair dryer (set on low heat)
•Plastic razor blade(s)
•3M Adhesive Remover


Bob
 
On another note..what about safety inspection stickers on plastic bumpers?
 
Rsurfer said:
On another note..what about safety inspection stickers on plastic bumpers?
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after_cleaning.gif



Bob
 
Rsurfer said:
On another note..what about safety inspection stickers on plastic bumpers?
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Are you in Hawaii? That's the only state I've ever lived which put them in that location and I found them impossible to remove. I still occasionally see cars at work with Hawaii inspection stickers years after the owner has moved back to the mainland.

I recall seeing these little metal plates people either attached to the bottom of the lisence plate bracket or mounted to hange below the bumper. The sticker was applied to the metal plate to save the paint. I have no idea if they were fabricated in a shop or actually purchased somewhere.
 
Desertnate said:
Are you in Hawaii? That's the only state I've ever lived which put them in that location and I found them impossible to remove. I still occasionally see cars at work with Hawaii inspection stickers years after the owner has moved back to the mainland.

I recall seeing these little metal plates people either attached to the bottom of the lisence plate bracket or mounted to hange below the bumper. The sticker was applied to the metal plate to save the paint. I have no idea if they were fabricated in a shop or actually purchased somewhere.
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Your correct. The dealer put the sticker on before I could get a stainless steel plate bought. On my previous iinspection, Midas removed the existing sticker, but I don't know how. I had another dealer for the current inspection sticker, but he put the new one over the old and now the edges are starting to peel back. I guess I'll see if Midas will give away their trade secret.
 
Rsurfer said:
Your correct. The dealer put the sticker on before I could get a stainless steel plate bought. On my previous iinspection, Midas removed the existing sticker, but I don't know how. I had another dealer for the current inspection sticker, but he put the new one over the old and now the edges are starting to peel back. I guess I'll see if Midas will give away their trade secret.
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That's no good. Hopefully Midas will let you know.

I found those stickers unlike anything I've encountered before. They might be indistructable and applied with some magical adhesive. After moving back to the mainland I tried several times to remove the inspection stickers on my wife's car without any success. I just treated them as a less obvious version of those bumper stickers people get showing where they went on vacation...only mine indicated where I lived. The vehicle was sold several years later with the stickers still looking pristine and quite firmly attacked.
 
I have never tried to remove this sort of stickers but there are several ways to remove stickers that works for pretty much anything.

The first thing is to use heat to soften the glue. If you have a heat gun, that is the fastest, otherwise a hair dryer works too and you can also use a steamer.

Once the sticker is really hot, you should be able to peel it off easilly. If not, use a razor blade.

Once the sticker is off, you need to use an adhesive remover to remove the glue. If you are gonna put an other sticker there, this step is optional.
 
Calendyr said:
I have never tried to remove this sort of stickers but there are several ways to remove stickers that works for pretty much anything.

The first thing is to use heat to soften the glue. If you have a heat gun, that is the fastest, otherwise a hair dryer works too and you can also use a steamer.

Once the sticker is really hot, you should be able to peel it off easilly. If not, use a razor blade.

Once the sticker is off, you need to use an adhesive remover to remove the glue. If you are gonna put an other sticker there, this step is optional.
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I would not hesitate to use a heat gun on paint, but on a plastic bumper... Dunno!
 
Rsurfer said:
Your correct. The dealer put the sticker on before I could get a stainless steel plate bought. On my previous iinspection, Midas removed the existing sticker, but I don't know how. I had another dealer for the current inspection sticker, but he put the new one over the old and now the edges are starting to peel back. I guess I'll see if Midas will give away their trade secret.
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What do these mandatory stickers look like? They sound aggravating. Lol.

So heat gun on the paint is cool, but acid based wheel cleaner on wheels is a no go for you? Mkay. Lol.
 
Rsurfer said:
I would not hesitate to use a heat gun on paint, but on a plastic bumper... Dunno!
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On a plastic bumper? From what the OP said, it's on the license plate. I have used heat guns on plastic bumper covers before. It's the same thing as on paint. You are not supposed to heat the sticker so much that it would damage the paint. It should be cool enough that you can put your hand on it without burning yourself. The pain becomes too high to keep your hand on something is around 60 celcius (140F) and that is cooler than a black panel gets in the blazing summer sun. Plastic is not gonna melt at that temperature either.

Now, using a heat gun is more risky, you have to be careful on how you use it and test often. If you want to be super careful a hair dryer takes much longer to get the same temperature on the sticker but is not gonna hurt anything.
 
Eldorado2k said:
What do these mandatory stickers look like? They sound aggravating. Lol.

So heat gun on the paint is cool, but acid based wheel cleaner on wheels is a no go for you? Mkay. Lol.
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We had them here in Quebec for a few years. It was a small sticker abour 2 inches by 1 inch with the year on it. It was applied on the lower corner of the license plate (see picture).

View attachment 65367
 
Calendyr said:
On a plastic bumper? From what the OP said, it's on the license plate. I have used heat guns on plastic bumper covers before. It's the same thing as on paint. You are not supposed to heat the sticker so much that it would damage the paint. It should be cool enough that you can put your hand on it without burning yourself. The pain becomes too high to keep your hand on something is around 60 celcius (140F) and that is cooler than a black panel gets in the blazing summer sun. Plastic is not gonna melt at that temperature either.

Now, using a heat gun is more risky, you have to be careful on how you use it and test often. If you want to be super careful a hair dryer takes much longer to get the sme temperature on the sticker but is not gonna hurt anything.
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I'm not a painter, but from what I understand, the paint on the metal panels is harder than the paint on plastic bumpers because of a flexing agent that is used in the paint. This makes correcting paint on a bumper much more delicate than on a metal panel. In my case I would be reluctant to using a heat gun on my bumper.
 
Calendyr said:
We had them here in Quebec for a few years. It was a small sticker abour 2 inches by 1 inch with the year on it. It was applied on the lower corner of the license plate (see picture).

View attachment 65367
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That doesn’t look like a problem at all... I’m wondering about the stickers they put on peoples bumpers.

Rsurfer said:
On another note..what about safety inspection stickers on plastic bumpers?
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Like what he’s referring to.
 
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