Removal of rental stickers from discs

[FoxNtd]

I've done a search to find only one loose reference to this issue here: http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11145. If there is another thread that addresses this, I surely missed it.

Now, I've never come across someone in rental or trade stores that could tell me a definitive answer to whether or not you can safely remove these damn stickers that cover discs on the top over the label side, sometimes in full. The rumor is that trying to take them off will damage the discs and ruin them due to the unreadability issue introduced, but I have no clue if that's even true. In a way, that doesn't make sense to me since you are not dealing abrasive damage to the disc, you're just trying to break adhesive bonds on the top of the game disc label's side; this shouldn't have anything to do with the data side of the disc below the game disc label somewhere...

So can anyone give a distinct answer to this mystery? Is it safe to remove? I've had a used copy of Star Ocean 2 with both discs covered in ugly Blockbuster stickers I've always wanted to remove but concerned I might pay the consequences for trying. I almost bought a CIB copy of Chu Chu Rocket today but saw a Hollywood Video sticker on the disc and decided to pass. I would use Goo Gone after peeling it off to clear up the adhesive residue but that's just to tidy it up; the issue lies with the sticker peeling step. (I don't even know if I'll ruin the label, too...)

[Gameguy]

The label side of the disc is what contains the data, if it gets scratched or ripped off in any way the disc is garbage. I wouldn't attempt to take off a label from one, or soak it to remove any type of adhesive. If you take off any bit of the label while removing the rental sticker, the disc is destroyed.

[otoko]

Don't a lot of disks have the data layer in the center? I've scratched the label on some of my disks and it didn't effect readability. Still sound advice, I've tried to remove a rental label from a copy of Jet Grind Radio, and after I was finished (noticed I didn't say once it was removed). I concluded it was a bad idea.

[jferio]

Most of the issue with it is that the silkscreened label on a CD is applied directly to the layer of reflective mylar that is essential for the machine to read the data with the laser. Once you peel it up trying to get a store label off, it's "game over man, game over". I stopped shopping at Game Crazy because one of the three discs I went through trying to get a good copy of PS1 WWF Smackdown 2 had the pricing label applied using a permanent label, in a position that I had to peel it off to ensure the PS1 could read it consistently. Given the prevalence (at the time) of applying the price labels like that, I wasn't willing to risk it again.

DVDs, being designed to be double sided if need be, bury the mylar under another layer of actual plastic, and as a result tend to be more durable (thankfully).

[channelmaniac]

Heat makes the labels come off much easier.

Just use a hair dryer and not a heat gun.