What to use to get stickers off of RAM sticks?

January 5, 2009 1:02 PM

I have a shoebox full of RAM sticks that I want to make some art out of. What should I use to soak the stickers off?

That's pretty much it; lots of obsolete desktop and laptop RAM modules that would look nice covering the fridge or a file cabinet (I'm thinking glue gun & minimagnets). But I want to get all the manufacturer's adhesive stickers off cleanly, without discoloring or otherwise dissolving the modules themselves.

Anyone recommend a solvent or favorite goop?

posted by bartleby to sports, hobbies, & recreation (11 comments total)

I've had great success removing stickers with "Goo Gone". Never tried it on RAM, but I doubt there would be any problems.
posted by jjb at 1:06 PM on January 5

You can peel the stickers off and Zippo lighter fluid (or Ronsonol or something similar) does wonders for disintegrating the sticker goo. It shouldn't discolor anything.
posted by fantastico at 1:11 PM on January 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you have any PC100/133 laptop memory that is >256 can you memail me :)
posted by [@I][:+:][@I] at 1:26 PM on January 5

WD-40
posted by cdmwebs at 1:36 PM on January 5

Old RAM chips make excellent keychains.
posted by camworld at 1:37 PM on January 5 [1 favorite has favorites]

Seconding Goo Gone.

Apply, rub, and then let it sit for about 10 mins. The stick and all the residue will come right off.
posted by zephyr_words at 2:02 PM on January 5

Lighter Fluid, much better than Goo Gone in my opinion.
posted by DJWeezy at 2:16 PM on January 5

Naptha. It's cheap, removes stickiness quickly, and evaporates away, leaving you nothing to clean up. I think it's the same thing as lighter fluid, but is much cheaper and comes in bigger cans.
posted by cosmicbandito at 2:29 PM on January 5

2nd camworld. I have an ancient 30 pin stick that is on my keychain right now.

but yeah, either lighter fluid or goo gone will do the job.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:35 PM on January 5

rubbing alcohol, the higher the percentage the better (90% +). Do a sample test first.

I've never tried letting a sticker soak in this stuff, because i usually use it to remove glue residue. Worth a try though.

But in all honesty...goo gone is your best bet.
posted by FusiveResonance at 3:04 PM on January 5

If you want to play it ultra safe to start with I'd use a heat gun before using chemical. You're not worried about heat damage to the internals of the chips since they'll never be used again.

On the chemical side of things, I second using a solvent like light fluid. Goo gone is great, but there seems to be some oil in it and I always have the hardest time getting the residue off.
posted by JFitzpatrick at 4:42 PM on January 5