Argh! Take a look at this nasty sticker!

[Xexyz]

I love Front Mission 3. Front Mission 3 is the best! Such a masterpiece from Square, besides, I loves me some Tactical RPG's! But there is a problem with my copy.

No, the game plays fine. It is complete, and the disk has no more than 3-4 minor hairline scratches. But the problem is with the disk. It's physical appearence has been affected by the accursed previous owner (rental store). It has a nasty security sticker on it that annoy's me to all hell! Here's a picture:

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/853/im0003039rm.th.jpg (http://img255.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im0003039rm.jpg)

Ugly isn't it? I wan't this thing off bad, but I'm not so knowledgable on these stickers. I've tried physically peeling it off. It seems like it will since I've started at one corner, however, I noticed that it will leave another metalic layer that looks almost impossible to scrape off. Is there a way to take this thing off and have the top of my disk look like it was when it was brand new? Any chemicals I can use that will take it off and keep the disk art in tact? Any help would be appreciated.

P.S. - I know of a local Ogre Battle that is complete. I'm dying to purchase it, but have held off so far. The disk has the same nasty Red's Video security sticker on it. If it were $5 I wouldn't mind but it's not...

[TeddyRuxpin]

My advice: Buy a disc only copy of the game and take it to a game store and pay a few bucks to have it buffed out if it's scratched up. It'll be like new then. 8-)

[Xexyz]

Buffed out? They can buff the top of the disk? Won't that cause harm to the data inside considering it's pretty close to the top?

I do know of a local store that has an expensive ($2K) buffing machine, but no matter how good it is, I can't see it taking the sticker off without ruining the disk art.

[chrisbid]

be very careful with those, on two occasions ive managed to peel them off with goo gone, but they pulled up pieces of the game label (aka the data of the game) and made it unplayable.

if you do manage to get the label off with just the metallic "void" mess, some goo gone and elbow grease (er thumb grease?) will take care of it

[darknut101]

Does goo gone work well for plastic cases (like PS2, GCN)? I hate all those stickers EB puts on their pre-owned games. I was going to try and use acetone but I was afraid it would eat the plastic.

[TeddyRuxpin]

Buffed out? They can buff the top of the disk? Won't that cause harm to the data inside considering it's pretty close to the top?

No no... I meant buy a seperate disc only of the game cheaply(?)... and then have it (the bottom surface) buffed out, slap it into the case w/ manual you have and there you go. LOL

[SuperNES]

Does goo gone work well for plastic cases (like PS2, GCN)? I hate all those stickers EB puts on their pre-owned games. I was going to try and use acetone but I was afraid it would eat the plastic.

acetone won't eat the plastic, trust me, but the best thing to use is denatured alcohol solvent. use a q-tip soaked in some of that and it will take the goop right off.

[chrisbid]

goo gone works great, it helps remove paper sticker residue, and a few drops and some thumb grease will remove sticker goo. wipe off with a paper towel, and youre all set.

[tylerwillis]

My experience with stickers is mixed - sometimes they come right off, sometimes they come right off with part of the data.

Your call, but if you do - Goo Gone does wonders in getting rid of sticky residue.

[Jibbajaba]

Does goo gone work well for plastic cases (like PS2, GCN)? I hate all those stickers EB puts on their pre-owned games. I was going to try and use acetone but I was afraid it would eat the plastic.

acetone won't eat the plastic, trust me, but the best thing to use is denatured alcohol solvent. use a q-tip soaked in some of that and it will take the goop right off.

Acetone won't eat the plastic of a DVD, PS2, or GCN case, but it WILL eat the plastic of a jewel case. It's best to steer clear of the stuff, because there are very few plastics that it won't dissolve. Try a high concentration of rubbing alcohol, pure methanol (if you can get it), or what I find works well are the "Kirkland" surface wipes that costco sells. Peel off the label as best as you can, and then rub the adhesive with the surface wipe, using your fingernail to create an edge.

Works.

Also? Order replacement cases for your games That's what I did. That way you have brand new cases.

Chris

[Masco73]

Does goo gone work well for plastic cases (like PS2, GCN)? I hate all those stickers EB puts on their pre-owned games. I was going to try and use acetone but I was afraid it would eat the plastic.

acetone won't eat the plastic, trust me, but the best thing to use is denatured alcohol solvent. use a q-tip soaked in some of that and it will take the goop right off.

Are you sure about the acetone? I melted a spot into a NES cart trying to get marker off it. It seemed to dissolve the plastic. I would steer clear of acetone if you care about the game at all. Just my 2 cents.

[rbudrick]

If it is a plastic sticker, rather than a paper one, you are going to have a tough time getting anything to penetrate it.

Most CDs are imprinted with ink that goo gone will not remove. MOST. Every now and then a cheap-ass CD comes along that the print rubs off, but it is rare in my experience.

Anyway, here's what you do. Get a small tupperware bowl where the bottom is flat enough to but the CD in. Fill the bowl with a 1/4" of Goo gone. Put the CD in right-side up or upside down (whichever is going to soak the sticker completely in a manner efficient relative to the shape of the bowl). Drown the CD if you must. Go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, the glue should be loose enough to peel it right off. Itgenerally takes a minimum of 8 hours to get thgrough the sides if a sticker that far that is made of plastic. 12 hours Is actually much more acurate because 8 hours is a bare, bare minimum. If there is ANY resistance in taking the sticker off (the edges at least should be peeling up easily), use a razor to cut away the loose parts of the sticker and re-soak the game.

Now, one the sticker comes off, the glue may still be there and be tough to rub off if it is really strong glue (rare on video store stickers, unless they are the kind that use that silver-colored glue). If it is clear glue, test wipe a bit with a non-abrasive cloth (no towels). If it wipes off, go ahead and wipe the rest off. If you feel the need to soak the glue some more before wiping now that the sticker is off, go for it. Do not rub hard. It should come off VERY easily.

Now, the problem often comes when that silver glue is what is left behind. Often, peeling one of these off reveals a silver glue VOID VOID VOID type of thing in the background or a checkerboard pattern. It's a security thing.

These will probably have to be soaked again for a few minutes. They are probably 2-5 times harder to get off than most standard sticker glues.

Of course, if that is a paper label. a spray down with goo-gone and a 5 minute wait will take care of the whole issue.

-Rob

[Slimedog]

If you can find it, get Rubber Cement Thinner from an office supply store. I use Ross brand and find it works better than Goo Gone in general. It seems to take off anything in short order, including that annoying "void" substance. Be careful if you are using a brand other than Ross because I've had other brands cause the color on boxes and/or inserts to run.

[Xexyz]

Okay, I kind of did my own thing so far. The sticker peeled off fine, but as was expected, the silver glue layer with the imprinted void was left behind. I took a toothpick and whittled at it for awhile. It didn't remove anything really, but I can somewhat see the disk art. No data has peeled off so far, the game still boots and plays. I'll try removing it with goo gone now. I found another Front Mission 3 complete at a game store near me for $5 so if this one gets corrupt well, I'm still safe and ready to supply a disk only owner with a case & manual.

EDIT- Heres an updated pic with an explenation to follow:

http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/7649/im0003059yt.th.jpg (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im0003059yt.jpg)

Looks better now huh? The reason why the sticker area thats still in tact is not lustery is because I picked at it with a tooth pick. I did this so that the goo gone could settle in better. Just a half hour ago I got a q-tip and dampened it with goo gone. I then gently rubbed it back in forth on the right hand side. As seen in the picture, the area that I rubbed came off with the data still int act :D

I tested the game afterwards and played through it a little. No corrupted data. Me thinks I will be picking up that Ogre Battle this weekend after all.

[pixelsnpolygons]

Good info here. I hate those damn rental stickers. I have one on my DC Soul Calibur. Ugly.

[Daria]

Good god I'm a perv. This topic is not what I imagined at all.

[b0bby]

you sicko you ;)

[mieu_c]

If it is a plastic sticker, rather than a paper one, you are going to have a tough time getting anything to penetrate it.

Most CDs are imprinted with ink that goo gone will not remove. MOST. Every now and then a cheap-ass CD comes along that the print rubs off, but it is rare in my experience.

Anyway, here's what you do. Get a small tupperware bowl where the bottom is flat enough to but the CD in. Fill the bowl with a 1/4" of Goo gone. Put the CD in right-side up or upside down (whichever is going to soak the sticker completely in a manner efficient relative to the shape of the bowl). Drown the CD if you must. Go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, the glue should be loose enough to peel it right off. Itgenerally takes a minimum of 8 hours to get thgrough the sides if a sticker that far that is made of plastic. 12 hours Is actually much more acurate because 8 hours is a bare, bare minimum. If there is ANY resistance in taking the sticker off (the edges at least should be peeling up easily), use a razor to cut away the loose parts of the sticker and re-soak the game.

Now, one the sticker comes off, the glue may still be there and be tough to rub off if it is really strong glue (rare on video store stickers, unless they are the kind that use that silver-colored glue). If it is clear glue, test wipe a bit with a non-abrasive cloth (no towels). If it wipes off, go ahead and wipe the rest off. If you feel the need to soak the glue some more before wiping now that the sticker is off, go for it. Do not rub hard. It should come off VERY easily.

Now, the problem often comes when that silver glue is what is left behind. Often, peeling one of these off reveals a silver glue VOID VOID VOID type of thing in the background or a checkerboard pattern. It's a security thing.

These will probably have to be soaked again for a few minutes. They are probably 2-5 times harder to get off than most standard sticker glues.

Of course, if that is a paper label. a spray down with goo-gone and a 5 minute wait will take care of the whole issue.

-Rob

Wow.. have you had this "sticker problem" before? Your so knowable about stickers...wheew...is it getting hot in here. All this talk about stickers is turning me on.

Sorry I couldn't resist.. it just seemed to perfect. ;) Plus it's late.. and i'm pretty stupid right now.

[Videogamerdaryll]

be very careful with those, on two occasions ive managed to peel them off with goo gone, but they pulled up pieces of the game label (aka the data of the game) and made it unplayable.

if you do manage to get the label off with just the metallic "void" mess, some goo gone and elbow grease (er thumb grease?) will take care of it


ive managed to peel them off with goo gone, but they pulled up pieces of the game label (aka the data of the game) and made it unplayable.

I've had this happen too with goo gone..

[rbudrick]

Wow.. have you had this "sticker problem" before? Your so knowable about stickers...wheew...is it getting hot in here. All this talk about stickers is turning me on.

Sorry I couldn't resist.. it just seemed to perfect. Plus it's late..

Mieu_C, have I told you lately how much I love you? :lovin: :love: Sorry, Steve...I hereby claim dibs. 8-)

-Rob

[Xexyz]

Alrighty, time for an update as I was sucessful with my experiment on taking off that nasty security sticker. First we have a picture (trust me, it's the same disk!)

http://img327.imageshack.us/img327/2633/im0003089ot.th.jpg (http://img327.imageshack.us/my.php?image=im0003089ot.jpg)

It plasy fine, none of the data peeled off. For a quick breakdown, this is what I did.

1. Carefully peeled off the sticker.

2. Whittled at the silver glue layer EVER SO CAREFULLY with a tooth pick (and later my fingernail as it was much quicker and also softer and less likely to do damage) so as to better penetrate it later with the goo gone.

3. Used a couple q-tips soaked with goo gone and lightly rubbed the residue until it began to rub around. I then whiped it off with an old rag.

4. Inbetween q-tips, I rinsed the area off with water.

Seems to work well, although there is a problem with this method. TIME! With all those steps combined, it took me roughly one hour to do. Not very time efficient, but I'm determiend to do it again since I only run into them once in awhile.

[snes_collector]

Good info in this topic. Awhile back picked up Power Stone used at GameStop. It had some of that glue on it, and someone have taken what looks like paper and put it over 1 of the stickie places. It didn't hurt the disk at all. So I you ever get a disk with glue on it, you could always put paper over it(although I cant confirm this work, because I didnt do it)

[phreak97]

ugh.. i have the ultimate ex rental collectors nightmare.

http://phreak97.experienced.tk/phreak97/dm2.jpg

that yellow circle is printed on the disc, it isnt a sticker.. i dont know how they did it.. aswel, it had a sticker on top of that which has left a sticky mess over the yellow.

then, the instruction booklet is covered in contact, with that $10 fee message under the contact. then theres a piece of adhesive film cut to cover the whole back of the booklet, the booklet is stuck in the cover of the case..
theres absolutely nothing that can be done here aside from the removal of the sticky stuff off the disc.

[Daria]

Good info in this topic. Awhile back picked up Power Stone used at GameStop. It had some of that glue on it, and someone have taken what looks like paper and put it over 1 of the stickie places. It didn't hurt the disk at all. So I you ever get a disk with glue on it, you could always put paper over it(although I cant confirm this work, because I didnt do it)

Is that like using a band-aid to cover up a huge zit on your forehead?

*note: Edited for sleepyness.

[snes_collector]

Good info in this topic. Awhile back picked up Power Stone used at GameStop. It had some of that glue on it, and someone have taken what looks like paper and put it over 1 of the stickie places. It didn't hurt the disk at all. So I you ever get a disk with glue on it, you could always put paper over it(although I cant confirm this work, because I didnt do it)

Is that like using a band-aid to cover up a huge zit on your forehead?

*note: Edited for sleepyness.

Yep, it seems so.

[Xexyz]

ugh.. i have the ultimate ex rental collectors nightmare.

http://phreak97.experienced.tk/phreak97/dm2.jpg

that yellow circle is printed on the disc, it isnt a sticker.. i dont know how they did it.. aswel, it had a sticker on top of that which has left a sticky mess over the yellow.

then, the instruction booklet is covered in contact, with that $10 fee message under the contact. then theres a piece of adhesive film cut to cover the whole back of the booklet, the booklet is stuck in the cover of the case..
theres absolutely nothing that can be done here aside from the removal of the sticky stuff off the disc.

Oh... my... god... that is NASTY! Printed you say? Okay, that definately aint coming off :(

[Bratwurst]

I hate those silver void stickers with a passion and this thread is a great reference if I ever want to remove one from a CD. I've only had to remove them from cartridges so far and simply rolling the ball of my dry thumb along the residue eventually (and rather quickly) peels it away. The thing is you have to exert a certain level of pressure that I doubt a CD could withstand.