Removing those awful stickers?

[ptrthgr8]

Hi, folks.

I've received a couple of boxes now from the Czar and they've got those atrocious "We hate you for smoking. Love, the Australian Government" stickers all over. (And here I thought the anti-smoking labels in the US were annoying. I now have perspective.) I tried to gently peel them off, but those suckers appear to be on there pretty well. I was planning to leave them in my humidor for a while to see if the humidity would help soften the glue... but no dice yet. Aside from the ol' tea kettle trick, are there any other suggestions for getting these ghastly things off my stogie boxes?

Cheers,

~ Greg ~

[riazp]

What I do is take a hairdryer, put it at the hottest setting, heat the sticker up and start peeling really slowly, you really need to take your time, peel slowly while leaving the head of the hairdryer on the sticker (obviously i remove the cigars from the box while doing this process) it works great for wooden cabs, dress boxes it works but will dammage the dress box a bit. but still better than the sticker itself.

[Styler]

I started off using the hairdryer trick but now I find I can peel them without it, just taking it very slowly. They do leave quite a sticky residue but it's a lot better than leaving the stickers on. At the end of the day though you don't smoke the box.

[tdlfoto]

What I do is take a hairdryer, put it at the hottest setting, heat the sticker up and start peeling really slowly, you really need to take your time, peel slowly while leaving the head of the hairdryer on the sticker (obviously i remove the cigars from the box while doing this process) it works great for wooden cabs, dress boxes it works but will dammage the dress box a bit. but still better than the sticker itself.

+1

[Scdalak]

Patience during this process is a virtue, I eqate this task to a surgical procedure! Wood Cabs do not require as much precision as the standard cardboard boz. Also dont even attempt to remove the part of the sticker that over laps the Cote' de Arms sticker and Hologram.

[CigarAsh]

I consider it a personal challenge. Every time a new box shows up, I sit and worry the corner of the sticker up and start sllllooooowwwwllllyyy peeling it off. It takes a little while to get them off but haven't had any real problems. Sometimes a little glue residue is left that will come up with some denatured alcohol. Another good way to get them off is a good wood chisel or paint scraper (for the wood cabs anyway). Once you get them started - they'll come right off.

But I do have to say thanks to the Aussie government for thinking of me and my health. It's very considerate of them.

[TonyV]

Has anyone tried goo be gone? I bought a bottle and just waiting on the mail to give it a try. Will post after giving it a shot.

[El Presidente]

I think it is important to try and collect the whole set

[TankerT]

Patience during this process is a virtue, I eqate this task to a surgical procedure! Wood Cabs do not require as much precision as the standard cardboard boz. Also dont even attempt to remove the part of the sticker that over laps the Cote' de Arms sticker and Hologram.

+1 on the hairdryer. Although, I run it on high, with the little attachment that focuses the air-stream. If it is HOT (as in... I wear some gloves while doing this...) you can take it off of a dress box with no damage to the box OR the hologram government seal. (I'm 2 for three on no damage to anything.)

[Squarehead]

If you don't use the box(es) again for storing cigars try WD-40.With that,any nasty sticker comes off.

[CigarAsh]

I think it is important to try and collect the whole set

I'm just missing the one with the tongue. I'm really hoping it comes on one of my boxes from last nights LFTH!

[ptrthgr8]

I think it is important to try and collect the whole set

Do you think if I wrote to the head tobacco hater in Canberra they'd send me a complete/unissued set?

[rckymtn22]

Has anyone tried goo be gone? I bought a bottle and just waiting on the mail to give it a try. Will post after giving it a shot.

If you use Goo be Gone make sure you take the cigars out and leave the box out of your humidor for a couple weeks to air out. The smell disappears then cigars back into the box and into the humidor.

[FrankBlack87]

I'm just missing the one with the tongue. I'm really hoping it comes on one of my boxes from last nights LFTH!

LOL yea i have one with the tongue. I just keep it open on my box display shelf so you cant see it lol.

[frenchkiwi]

I think it is important to try and collect the whole set

he he a mate of mine used to be in charge of picking these warning pics for the New Zealand audience. he smokes cigars and used to smoke ciggies.

anyway you guys could stick some "light" plain stickers underneath the warning ones so that they could be removed easily?

the many members here would thank you profusely i'm sure.

how else we gonna remove them intact for our collection albums?

[rfenst]

I haven't read of any process or technique that works well, so I am reccomending a different approach. Simply cover the warning stickers with a same size white sticker commonly available from office supply stores.

If you can't get any the same size, simply use two or three. If the ugly sticker covers a lid-seam, simply slice through it with a razor blade. Tiswon't leave you with a it doesn't take much time and will not leave any glue residue.

IF YOU CAN'T BEAT 'EM, JOIN EM!!

[SCgarman]

I use a hairdryer to slowly remove the stickers, the heat helps break down the adhesive. Then use a little citrus oil to remove the sticky residue. The process takes a little time and patience, but the stickers CAN be removed with the box litho intact.

[thechenman]

II simply don't bother removing them. It's not a big deal to me.

[sam]

I use a paint removal-type heat gun that gets hotter than a hair dryer to soften the sticker adhesive (with the box empty of course). The stickers then come right off with no problem or damage to any other part of the packaging. If need be I sometimes use a very small amount of Goo Gone, very quickly to avoid wetting the packaging, to remove any remaining adhesive. It leaves no perceptible smell if used in this manner. ---sam

[oliverchang514]

I think it is important to try and collect the whole set

hah hah. Stickers are nice. Especially if they are "scratch and sniff".

On a serious note, damn ugly stickers on our boxes.

[kiwiman911]

I bought a heat gun (following Riaz's hairdryer recommendation, thanks buddy ). It works like a charm.

I remove the cigars from the box, heat the stickers, slowly and slowly remove them then place cigars back in.

I suggest staying away from any chemicals and/or lubricants that remove glue (i.e. Goo Gone, WD-40, etc). I feel that the cedar box (cabs especially) could suck on the liquid and retain the odor and chemicals (regardless of whether it can evaporate).

Every single CCs box should come in a carton box (like for the Cohiba Genios, etc) and stickers should be on it. It would solve the problem. They could cover the entire carton box with stickers if they wanted.

got a box of secretos and there was a sticker on the dress box also...had to use the heat gun trick and I leave the glue on there is not that much left