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My gridded windows (small pane, divided light) were masked for too long and now the tape is brittle and leaves residue.

I'm using a razor blade to scrape and Goo Gone to remove the glue but is there a better way?

isherwood
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Matthew
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    Nope. That's your penance. – isherwood Aug 20 '20 at 19:32
  • Possibly other solvents may help but I agree that a razor blade and some kind of solvent will be the best method. – Ed Beal Aug 20 '20 at 20:00
  • a steam cleaner might be able to blast away the paper. use naptha-soaked brown paper towels and saran wrap to keep the residue wet for a few mins, then it should wipe off. – dandavis Aug 20 '20 at 20:20

2 Answers2

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Mix dish soap and water to make a VERY slippery substance. Then a common $2 razor scraper, being careful to make sure you change razor blades often and it never gets dull. If it gets dull it could scratch the glass.

The purpose of the soapy water is to make sure the razor blade glides across the glass.

It's quick work, unless the masking tape is still tacky. If it is, lay fresh masking tape across it, rub down and peel.

By the way, the razor blade method also works on primer and paint. You didn't actually need to mask the glass at all. You could have just overpainted the glass wherever you wanted to, and then used this same technique to lift the paint. It's actually much easier than what you're doing now.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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  • Does it matter if I slice the edges of the glass? I'm a little concerned about the paint tearing from the grids – Matthew Aug 21 '20 at 02:23
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    Yeah, if you're even slightly worried about that, go ahead and run the blade around the edge of the glass. That'll assure it doesn't lift too far. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Aug 21 '20 at 02:30
  • You can definitely cut along the frames, but be careful to keep the angle halfway between the wood face and the glass face. It's easy to shave off your new paint or slice the soft wood. – isherwood Aug 21 '20 at 12:50
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Returning to answer my own question a year later.

I had received advice that if I left the tape on for more than a month that it would be very difficult to remove. That's completely true. However, if you can leave it for about a year or more then the adhesive becomes friable and can be much more easily removed.

It's now about 18 months since the tape was put on the windows.we were able to clean it all off in about 2 hours today.

My windows are divided light style windows with six squares in each window. Attempts last year took about an hour per square. After waiting a year it took about 5 minutes per square using the same method.

Not everybody is willing to just keep the tape on their windows that long but if you are, then even more time after the first 3 months or so will make it easier to remove.

Matthew
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  • COVID 19 painting made easy. Leave the tape it will eventually disintegrate love this. – Kris Sep 27 '21 at 01:52