Step 1. Clean It With Soapy Water

Dirt and debris on and around the decal can scratch your surface for example car’s paint when you start rubbing off the adhesive residue, so you’ll want to clean it beforehand. with some soapy water.

Step 2. Heat It Up

The next step is to heat up the sticker to weaken and loosen the adhesive. The best tool for the job is a hair dryer, as a heat gun is too powerful and could damage your surface. Distribute the heat evenly throughout the sticker and be sure to heat the edges of it. Give it a good two minutes of heating before you stop.

If it’s in an area where you can’t reach with hair drying even with extension cord, your next best thing will be to pour boiling water over the decal to heat the adhesive, but this is a little messy (and hot), and you may need to do it several times to get the job done. However, it will work if you don’t have a hair blow dryer on hand.

Step 3. Peel It Off

You’ll want to do this step immediately after heating up the decal. Have a plastic card on hand, like a rewards card or an old debit or credit card. Whatever you use, it should be plastic, as knives and razor blades can easily scratch the paint. A plastic card is strong enough to release the decal from the paint if you’ve heated it up sufficiently. Use it around all the edges of the decal with the card to try and release it from the surface . Once you’ve used the card to release the edges of the decal, you should be able to peel it off using your hand.

Step 4. (Optional) Use A Glue Removal Product Or Vinegar

Most likely, once the sticker or decal is off, you’ll still have some adhesive residue on your surface, especially if you had it on for a long while. This is perfectly fine because there are plenty of products at your disposal that can get rid of it without hurting your paint. If you have some white distilled vinegar in your kitchen, grab that and apply it to a cloth to rub off the adhesive residue. Or, use an adhesive remover.