Cleaning duct tape glue from a DVD?
February 24, 2010 9:51 AM Subscribe
Kid stuck a piece of duct tape to the back of a DVD (technically, Wii Optical Disc), best way to clean the glue off?
I've used "goo gone" before on Cds and DVDs and it worked fine for gummy residue, without ruining the disk. Never used it on a Wii optical disk though.
posted by luvmywife at 9:58 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by luvmywife at 9:58 AM on February 24, 2010
Light detergent, water and a rag. Make sure to wipe in straight lines away from the center of the dvd, do not use a circular motion.
posted by mtyn at 9:59 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by mtyn at 9:59 AM on February 24, 2010
Seconding Goo Gone (which is orange oil-based). It won't dissolve plastic like other adhesive removers such as Goof Off. Just in case, keep it from getting on the edges of the disc, where it may get into the adhesive that sticks the two halves of the disc together.
posted by zsazsa at 10:19 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by zsazsa at 10:19 AM on February 24, 2010
Goo Gone. Trust me, I use a LOT of Duct tape. Works every time.
posted by sandra_s at 10:22 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by sandra_s at 10:22 AM on February 24, 2010
I've washed CDs in the bathroom sink before, using standard soap and warm water, without having any issues. I'd be tempted to try that out out before having a go with any of the hardcore goo-removers that the others have suggested...
posted by Chunder at 10:24 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by Chunder at 10:24 AM on February 24, 2010
Does the back mean the label side, or the shiny, read-from side? If it's the shiny side, you just need to remove the glue left behind without disolving/fogging the plastic. Testing whatever goo-remover you use on a cheap CDR, as suggested by other posters seems like a good idea. If "back" means the label side, you should make sure to remove the tape carefully so that you don't peel off the metallic film (which is what actually stores the information).
posted by JiBB at 10:43 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by JiBB at 10:43 AM on February 24, 2010
Olive oil. In most cases, works just as well as Goo Gone, and is much cheaper.
posted by jferg at 10:52 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by jferg at 10:52 AM on February 24, 2010
WD-40.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:54 AM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 10:54 AM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]
Back when I used to fix printers (HP LJ 1s and 2s, dot matrix and an occasional *gasp* daisy wheel) the go-to fluid for removing jammed sticky labels was lighter fluid. It never damaged the rollers or any other plastic parts.
posted by bondcliff at 11:01 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by bondcliff at 11:01 AM on February 24, 2010
Agree with Goo Gone. A $5 bottle will last forever and will be useful more often than you think.
posted by Diplodocus at 11:03 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by Diplodocus at 11:03 AM on February 24, 2010
2nding WD-40. Soak a cotton ball or pad with it and wipe, then wipe again with a ball/pad soaked in cold water, then dry.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 11:55 AM on February 24, 2010
posted by Gridlock Joe at 11:55 AM on February 24, 2010
Goo Gone. Just don't leave the cap off like I did, or your Goo Gone will be gone really, really quickly (it evaporates rapidly for some reason.)
posted by davejay at 12:12 PM on February 24, 2010
posted by davejay at 12:12 PM on February 24, 2010
Nthing Goo Gone, but use a microfiber cloth instead of a rag or paper towel, to prevent scratching the disc.
posted by motown missile at 12:51 PM on February 24, 2010
posted by motown missile at 12:51 PM on February 24, 2010
you can try using additional tape to "lift" the adhesive off: wrap some inside out around your finger (sticky side out) and "tap" the adhesive on the CD to lift it off. believe it or not we occasionally do this on space flight hardware rather than use abrasives or solvents
posted by kenbennedy at 2:03 PM on February 24, 2010
posted by kenbennedy at 2:03 PM on February 24, 2010
WD-40 can eat plastic. I would use Isopropyl Alcohol/
posted by wongcorgi at 6:49 PM on February 24, 2010
posted by wongcorgi at 6:49 PM on February 24, 2010
If you're near a BlockBuster or other video store, bring it in and ask someone there. Heck, they may even clean if for you; I've brought in scratched up dvd's, they have always kindly put it in their "scratched DVD repair machine" and fixed it up. I'm sure they have lots of experience cleaning up all sorts of stuff from all types of media. Just make sure to go on a weekday morning, not on a busy Friday or Saturday night.
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 8:03 PM on February 24, 2010
posted by BozoBurgerBonanza at 8:03 PM on February 24, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Obviously, the question is, which solvent will remove the tape glue but not dissolve the plastic. I'd take a throwaway disc and experiment on it. Things like vegetable oil are pretty sure not to harm the disc and might work. I'd also try putting it in a warm place (90 or 100 degrees, not hotter), and see if that lets you pull off the softened glue.
posted by beagle at 9:58 AM on February 24, 2010