NYC PVB sticker adhesive

June 6, 2012 6:30 AM

What adhesive does the NYC Parking Violations Bureau use to put those nearly unremovable "shame stickers" on car windows?

I need to mount some decorative cutouts on glass permanently, and I immediately thought of the super-stubborn stuff the NYC PVB uses for the "shame stickers" they put on illegally parked car windows. What is it, and where do I find it? Also, is there a solvent in case I want to remove what I put up?

posted by KRS to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

Lighter fluid (napthalene) is an excellent adhesive remover. It's what most auto detail shops use.
posted by buggzzee23 at 7:07 AM on June 6, 2012

What material are these decorative cutouts made from? This will determine the appropriate adhesive to use.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:54 AM on June 6, 2012

It's a combination of thin, porous paper and a very high-tack adhesive that makes the stickers stay put. 3M - High Tack 76 is a good paper<>glass adhesive.

Goo Gone works to remove those stickers, as do mineral spirits (white spirit).

Also: naphthalene is not an ingredient in lighter fluid--that's naphtha. Naphthalene is the main ingredient in moth balls.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:35 AM on June 6, 2012

WD-40 is also good at removing adhesive.
posted by vegartanipla at 10:36 AM on June 6, 2012

I have no experience with NYC Parking, but I've done a lot of work with adhesives. Knowing what you're mounting to the glass would help answer your question. Depending on how involved you want to get, you can check out This to That to determine what will help your material stick to glass. Or 3M actually has a great customer service team that has answered a lot of "I need to stick X to Y. Which of your products would you recommend" for me (all for work, but I doubt they'd ignore any customer request.)
posted by This Guy at 8:55 AM on June 7, 2012