bell.taylor•26d agoProlific Poster

Found a shortcut for getting those stubborn car registration stickers off at the DMV

Last week I was at the Bothell DMV trying to peel off my old tabs from the license plate. You know how they get all crusty and stuck after a year in the rain. The lady at the counter told me to try a hair dryer on low heat for like 30 seconds before peeling. I figured why not give it a shot since I was already frustrated. It actually worked way better than my old method of scraping with a razor blade. No paint peeling or scratched plate this time. Has anyone else tried this trick or got another way that works for the sticky residue?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivan_fisher9926d ago

Ugh I feel your pain so much. I spent an hour last summer with a razor blade and a bottle of Goo Gone on my old plates after moving from Oregon. Ended up scratching the paint so bad I just bought new plates entirely. The hair dryer trick is solid though, I tried it on my roommate's car last month and it peeled off like butter. Only thing is you gotta be careful not to hold it too close or the plastic tabs start to warp a bit. That sticky residue left behind is the real enemy though, I ended up using a bit of vegetable oil on a rag to get the last bits off and it worked without damaging anything.

knight.xena25d ago

I used to be one of those "just peel it off cold" people, thought the hair dryer was overkill. But after ruining a set of plates on my old truck with a heat gun that melted the sticker into a black tar mess, I tried the hair dryer method on my girlfriend's plates last fall. Worked way better than I expected, like you said, peeled off clean in one strip. The vegetable oil tip is smart too, I used WD-40 once and it left a weird greasy film that took three car washes to get off. Now I feel kinda dumb for ignoring the basic hair dryer trick for so long.