Thinkpads Forum

I want to remove the Windows Vista and Centrino Pro stickers from my Thinkpad.

What's the best (and easier) way to remove them without damaging my Thinkpad?

fingernail works just fine. Used that for my T, R, X, A, I laptops, never damaged it.


If you want to get a hair drier to heat up the glue, you'll be less likely to damage the sticker should you want to put it on something else.


As far as residue goes, Goo Gone works really well removing anything left over. Doesn't damage the finishes, and leaves your laptop with a nice citrusy smell.

I haven't figured out how to get rid of the "shadow" or whatever you want to call it from stickers that have been on the laptop for a longer time though. I hate that part, get a laptop that's had stickers on it for a year or 2, pull the stickers, and there's the silhouette of where the sticker used to be.

hair dryer, good idea
goo gone==expensive kerosene
like microsoft, the "shadow" fades with time

Finally removed the stickers and the silhouette of where the stickers used to be is there... Let's hope time removes them.

oddly enough, my stickers were worn so i bought some and replaced it I sometimes like my stickers but not all over the back of the LCD like i see some guys do with their Thinkpads. I got a new palmrest from Lenovo and put stickers on there also.

lots of people say WD-40 works best to remove it with no residue left behind. Dunno how but it works i'm told.

Basically, you're looking for a solvent for the glue. WD40 may act as a decent solvent, but it may also leave unwanted and potentially dangerous residue on your laptop. The best option in this case is rubbing alcohol (isopropanol, say 90%). This can be purchased at your local pharmacy or supermarket if you don't already have some.

Step 1: Removing the sticker
Using the blade of a duller, rounded knife very carefully begin to peel off the sticker. Use your finger to help pull the sticker off of the laptop, and use the blade to remove glue from the space between the sticker and laptop surface. Soon, your sticker will be removed. If you're lucky you may not have to go to step 2.

Step 2: Cleaning the surface of the laptop
Use a paper towel or cloth, and apply rubbing alcohol to the cloth (you don't need to use a lot). Clean the surface as you would clean any surface. Notice how the alcohol evaporates from the surface of the laptop, leaving little to no residue. This is why we chose to use the rubbing alcohol.

Step 3: Compute to your heart's desire.

GL

Where can I find these replacement stickers? My Windows XP sticker got all rubbed away. It's just a silver square on my laptop.

Removed 3 stickers.
Removed glue residue with alochol. This worked well out for 2 of the stickers.
Used acetone to remove the glue residue of one of the stickers.
However, the surface of the palmrest is not resistant to acetone. It is a solvent for the palmrest material, permanently damaging the surface of the palmrest!
I've now an ugly looking palmrest.

Sorry to hear that, but yes, Acetone is (unfortunately, in your case) a very good solvent of both polar and non-polar materials.

The best choice for cleaning plastic is always isopropanol, which is polar and dissolves polar materials (such as the glue) but has little to no effect on non-polar materials. A note of caution: don't use it on your screen, since it is coated with a polar substance.

You'll want to keep acetone away from your screen and other plastics as well. It is known to dissolve many things.

A quick Google search on acetone and plastic had the following results:
http://www.ptg.org/pipermail/caut/2003- ... 08718.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Will_acetone_melt_plastic
http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article ... Extraction

And searching for acetone and LCDs had:
http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/000666.html
"Do not use any of the following chemicals or any solutions that contain them: Acetone, ethyl alcohol, toluene, ethyl acid, ammonia, or methyl chloride. If you have a different chemical or solution and are not sure whether it is suitable, do not use it. Using any of the chemicals in the previous list may cause permanent damage to the LCD or flat panel screen. Some commercial window cleaners contain ammonia and are therefore unacceptable."

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/11/wipe ... nitor.html

It would be interesting (although not very eco-friendly) to see an entire laptop dissolved by acetone

I wonder if ThinkPads would fare better than other brands.

...

lol yea that will be funny
the only thing i use on my thinkpad lcd is water and lens paper.
on the hard plastics i use some isopropyl alcohol to keep it clean and then wipe it with tissue with warm water

I've used Kimwipes wetted with regular eye glass lens cleaner on matte laptop screens in the past to clean and/or smooth out some scuffs, scratches, and dirt. (I've never had to clean a glossy screened laptop, and plan to avoid acquiring one in the future, so I can't speak to cleaning them.) A nice thing about Kimwipes is they don't leave a fuzzy residue or lint on the screen. They're commonly used in science labs, also described here:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/arc ... 57749.html
That link mentions that Kimwipes may be slightly abrasive, so they may not be the best choice for a screen where there aren't any scuffs to smooth out. They worked for me for that purpose; your mileage may vary.

There are also microfiber cloths available.

Here's an article about cleaning camera lens:
http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/tu ... aning.html

And an article about what lens cleaner consists of (usually a water and isopropyl alcohol mixture):
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/arc ... 23568.html

Interesting thread on sticker removal.