Removing stickers on discs?

[khaz]

I'm fine with removing all sort of stuff from cartridges. If I can remove the board from the shell and I don't care about the sticker I would just use chemicals and/or soap and water. I could also warm it with a hair drier, which is non-destructive but takes much longer to do.

But this is fine when the shell is enclosing a sturdy mask ROM. What about discs? I don't feel like using an organic solvent for fear it would leak into the case, and heating that thin inside disc feels like a sure way to have it completely bent out of shape.

What are my options to remove a sticker on a disc without destroying the disc?

[GeoffB17]

I've done hundreds of disks this way, it's always worked fine for me, although it's a bit fiddle.


Firstly, use turpentine, applied with a cotton bud, and paint the label until the label is soaked.


Leave it for a while - 20 mins or so.


I usually do a batch of 10 or so at a time.


You should then find that the gum is totally rotted, and the label will come off easily.   If not, use a blade to help, like you were shaving your beard.   Gently, mind you.


Leaves the disk smelling of turps!!


Then use some tissue, with isopropyl alcohol - like you'd use for cleaning the head or a tape recorder, to clean off any residue of turps, and the smell.   Then the disk is clean/prisine!


You get the occasional one where the gum is not rotted as well as usual, but it should still be affected, just harder work with the blade.


Geoff

[chinnyhill10]

What are my options to remove a sticker on a disc without destroying the disc?

Isopropyl alchohol. The spray on stuff RS do is good.


Leaves no residue or smell. Labels pretty much come off straight away. Just dissolves the glue and it evaporates fast so little risk of overspill.

[Dizrythmia]

I use a product called "Shellite". I don't know if it's available in the UK, but it can be found in Bunnings Warehouses & Masters Hardware stores in Australia:

Diggers 1L Shellite | Bunnings Warehouse

Diggers Shellite 1L - Masters Home Improvement

It's not perfect,  but I haven't found anything that is yet

[pelrun]

D-Limonene is one of the better choices; it's a terpene (same class as turpentine) extracted from citrus. The "orange/citrus oil" you see advertised on consumer adhesive removers is this just diluted with some other random crap.


Non-toxic, evaporates completely, smells like oranges (unlike turpentine), dissolves practically every non-curing adhesive you're likely to encounter.

[mr_lou]

I used to do it all the time with Amiga disks using the same approach as GeoffB17, except I only used isopropyl alchohol and not turpentine.

Never tried it with a CPC disk though.

[Bignumbas]

Being a true blue Ozzie I swear by eucalyptus oil and after clean up with isopropyl alcohol.
Leave the oil to soak for a while, works on any paper labels and polishes the plastic to.
If it is plastic coated peel back the coating as best you can first.