Would you use nail polish remover on caravan windows?

[Parksy]

In the June edition of the new look Practical Caravan Magazine there is a section of Doug King's 'Doug'll Fix It' feature called Advice Briefs on page 110.
In this section a gentleman called Andrew Wallace wrote about how much he enjoyed a visit to Stowford Farm Meadows last August.

The only slight problem with a stay at Stowford as many forumites attending the Practical Caravan Readers Rally in May are about to discover is that Stowford issues sticky labels to display how long you have booked for and these should be stuck inside caravans on the front window.
Obviously when the label is removed a sticky adhesive residue can sometimes remain on the window and Andrew Wallace was asking how to best remove the residue without scratching the window.

Doug King advised Andrew to use 'a drop of nail polish remover' and went on to say that if that didn't work to ask on this forum

Doug has many years of practical experience but I'm sorry to say that I don't entirely agree with his advice on this occasion.
Some nail polish removers can contain acetone, a solvent which could potentially damage some acrylic caravan windows if too much is used or if it's left on too long.
As with any application to materials used in caravan construction it's best to test a very small area first to assess any effects, but I really wouldn't fancy using nail polish remover on my windows or indeed any plastics in my caravan even if it does break down the sticky residue left by labels.

When we bought our caravan there were labels all over the place, on the windows, in the wash basin and on the toilet seat (so much for the pre delivery inspection eh?

)
We bough some Desolvit Sticky Stuff Remover which quickly and easily removed all traces of adhesive residue and we've still got most of the bottle left over in the caravan so I'm sorted for Stowford and their sticky labels.

Doug rightly warns against using methylated spirits but I've heard that WD40 also shifts the sticky residue from labels etc; but unlike the stuff that we bought it doesn't smell very nice unless you're a motor mechanic

Just in case Andrew looks in on our forum, would you use nail polish remover on caravan windows and if not, what would you use?

 

[ProfJohnL]

I echo Parksys concern about nail polish remover on the windows. I have strong suspicion the remover wil attack the window plastic. It is highly likley to cause it to go milky, and may structurly weaken the plastick making it vulnerable to cracking.

Where possible I avoid sticking anything to car and caravan windows except for long term items such a taxdisc. I have in one car a piice of transparent plastic that I use for parking tickets,and I wedge it againts the window. Perhapse a similar idea coudl work for the caravan?

 

[woodsieboy]

I agree with Parksy, we sell acetone and nail polish remover,some of which is specifically non acetone formula.I also agree with the prof as I refuse to stick parking tickets etc on car windows. Theacetone may damage the plastic,although you may not notice the damage at first, it will dissolve some plastics, and it may make others brittle. I would suggest a solution of washing up liquid with water, apply to the sticky residue, leave for a few minutes and wipe off, reapply several times until the mark is gone. When at Stowford we never stick the label on windows, we just prop it up in the bottom of the window seal so that it is visible from the outside.

 

[Joann]

Plaster remover from a pharmacy would be Ok I would think, and is cheap enough. Acetone would take the surface off the plastic.
I remember when I was a teenager, spilling nail varnish remover on the lid of my record player (yes I am that old) which was a smoked plastic and it kind of melted.

 

[Damian]

Yet again we see a "own goal" by the infamous Doug "Mr Fixit" King.
Nail polsh remover is acetone, nothing more, nothing less and should never be used on Polyplastic windows.

White spirit or even WD40 wil remove glue residue but wash the window immediately after to remove any residue.

It makes me laugh really, all the things the author gives the impression "he" has done, when in fact most is done by a caravan workshop on PC's behalf..................

As for saying if his advised method does not work to ask on this Forum,,,,,,,,,,hes not very confident with his advice !!!

 

[Parksy]

I didn't mention Doug's advice in order to have a pop at him, his regular Fix It magazine articles encourage d-i-y enthusiasts and show that buying an older caravan can be viable with reasonable practical skills

It's just that I thought after reading the article that although the nail varnish remover advice would be perfectly valid on glass windows as fitted to much older caravans, modern materials used on caravans may not tolerate solvent based chemicals.
We found the Sicky Stuff Remover to be safe and effective so I wondered if forum users have other methods of removing adhesive residue which wouldn't risk causing damage.
I have to say that I'm with Doug on the advice to ask on the forum!

If Practical Caravan forumites between them don't know the answer it's not worth knowing..........

 

[Damian]

Polyplastic say that NOTHING sticky should be put on their windows as the glues used will cause crazing of the window, weaken the plastic and cause irrepairable damage.

Cleaning should only be done with non abrasive neutral cleaners, no strong alkali or acid preparations.
There are special acrylic polishes available, but polish such as Auto Glym resin is ok too.

 

[Gagakev]

The previous owner of my van stored and only stayed at Stowford and the front window was covered in the sticky residue.
After seeking advice on here cleaned it with white spirit but only small area's at a time and washing the area immediatley with soapy water, I have tinted windows. But it still took quite sometime to get it off completly.
Now on my visit to Stowford I duly wedge the sticker in the bottom corner of the window as Woodsie has said
I DO NOT PEEL OFF AND STICK TO WINDOW (they havent got to clean it off)

 

[Damian]

Quote "I didn't mention Doug's advice in order to have a pop at him, his regular Fix It magazine articles encourage d-i-y enthusiasts and show that buying an older caravan can be viable with reasonable practical skills "

But thats the problem, Steve, it purports to show that , but all the technical work is not done by him, its done in a caravan workshop by people who fix caravans for a living and have the technical knowledge and expertise.

 

[Dustydog]

Yet again we see a "own goal" by the infamous Doug "Mr Fixit" King.
Nail polsh remover is acetone, nothing more, nothing less and should never be used on Polyplastic windows.

White spirit or even WD40 wil remove glue residue but wash the window immediately after to remove any residue.

It makes me laugh really, all the things the author gives the impression "he" has done, when in fact most is done by a caravan workshop on PC's behalf..................

As for saying if his advised method does not work to ask on this Forum,,,,,,,,,,hes not very confident with his advice !!!

Fully agree Damien,
When you see how quickly an acetone can disolve a varnish , it beggars belief you would apply it to a Polyplastic window!

Two things for me:-
Why are Stowford supplying sticky labels that peel off leaving a messy residue?
What do Polyplastic recommend?

 

[Martin24]

No I would not use it!! Soap and water, some auto glym to finish and that would be it!! Possibly would try a bit of the Auto glym caravan cleaner. Could a stciker not be put up with a little bit of blue tac?? Just a thought if it's a sticker that you need to peel before putting on or just enough blue tac in each corner to keep the sticky off the window.

 

[Gafferbill]

I always thought advice was something you could take or leave....... and I would leave Doug King’s advice to use nail varnish remover on plastic caravan windows well alone.
I would suspect Doug meant to use a minute amount just to see if it removed the glue and then remove all residues immediately.

My wife (who is an ex teacher) advised me to put such notices in a cheap plastic wallet such as these........
http://goo.gl/8EIsx
I took her advice and we carry some for such use.

I pass it on for you to take or leave...........

 

[weejock]

The best way I find to remove sticky labels is with some vegetable oil.
Nice easy and cheap

 

[Dustydog]

Why do they use stickers in the first place?

The CC don't use any.

 

[JohnM20]

Speaking as a retired technical director of an adhesives company, I think the problem is that there is a lot of ignorance on the part of the label user. Many, I am sure, do not realise that there are several different types of adhesives used on label stock, each with its own characteristic. The ideal adhesive for labels used in applications where they need to be removed is a 'peelable' one or 'low tack' (two specific but different types) but unless specified by the label user, the label printer will use general stock which usually provides a permanent, difficult to remove, label, (which becomes more permanent and more difficult to remove with age and / or sunlight).

The formulation of adhesives varies depending on the end use conditions such as for use in freezers or for use on 'difficult' surfaces. There is an adhesive which is water soluble but tends to be a bit more expensive and because the average label printer doesn't have a general use for this type of adhesive, won't have the label material in stock. 'Peelable' adhesive label stock is quite common, most label printers should stock this but it needs to be specified by the label user. Even this needs to be used with care as 'peelable' labels only remain so for about six months from the date they are applied.
That all said, there are many different solvents that will remove adhesives but some take longer to work than others and, as has been rightly said, some can damage the surface, particularly plastics. Personally, my choice of the common solvents would be white spirit but making sure that I wash off the residue with soapy water as soon as possible after the adhesive has been removed.

 

[happyvanman]

try baby wipes..... used them to remove sticky residue on many a surface and they work without the chemicals associated with nail polish etc if they dont work i also have resorted to a slight dab of turps but would persevere with babywipes if in any doubt....

 

[Parksy]

White spirit isn't recommended for polyplastic windows, I wouldn't use it.

"I didn't mention Doug's advice in order to have a pop at him, his regular Fix It magazine articles encourage d-i-y enthusiasts and show that buying an older caravan can be viable with reasonable practical skills "

But thats the problem, Steve, it purports to show that , but all the technical work is not done by him, its done in a caravan workshop by people who fix caravans for a living and have the technical knowledge and expertise.

I think that it may be a mixture of both Damian.
To be fair Doug has mentioned the caravan workshop that he uses in some articles and time constraints due to publishing deadlines may be one of the reasons that caravan engineers are sometimes used to carry out or to complete work on project caravans.

 

[Surfer]

Thanks for the heads as we will not be sticking any stickers in our window.

 

[Sparks1]

The previous owner of our caravan had Selotaped 'For Sale' notices in each window and once in my possesion I had the task of removing four remnants of tape from each window. The tape must have been on the window for some time and was well and truly cured.
Once the skin of the tape had been lifted I used olive oil and paper towels to remove the stubborn glue. Not an easy task, and it did require a lot of elbow grease but eventualy the glue was gone and no scratches caused.

 

[Surfer]

We bought some that Desolvit stuff yesterday so hopefully it will work okay.

 

[scottiemad]

Baby oil gets rid of sticky marks - just google it as we did. Bought some plastic plates in the sale at M&S and they had 3 or 4 labels on - baby oil works a treat