Help! How can I remove sticker residue without damaging paint?

I etched this plate.  Then I left the vinyl mask on and painted the etched areas with Rustoleum rust-converter.  Then peeled the vinyl off and the plan is to clear coat the whole thing.  

The problem is there is a ton of sticker residue.  How do I get rid of this safely without destroying the paint around it?  It isn't easy to scrub, and its not a flat surface like a car.  I've tried goo gone and I'm not having much luck.

What is the melting point of this residue?  I'm wondering if I can torch it and get it to melt off without the black paint burning off?  The black doesn't need to remain perfect, but I don't want to go down to bare metal because I need the contrast when finished.

Bestine rubber cement thinner.  It takes off nearly every kind of adhesive goo and scrunge, and it's amazingly benign on most plastics and other finishes.

Good old lighter fluid (for zippo lighters) works great but to be safe, try a little on the paint in an area you can't see

We use Ronsonal on guitars. 

Wax & grease remover used for automotive finishes.

3M general purpose adhesive cleaner.  Should be available at any auto parts store. 

https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/3m-general-purpose-adhesive-cleaner-p-10946.aspx

Citric acid (those Citrus bases cleaners) and WD40 work for that.  WD40 might make it hard to clean up for paint though.

aircooled said:

Citric acid (those Citrus bases cleaners) and WD40 work for that.  WD40 might make it hard to clean up for paint though.

These are what I use. Recently I had to remove sticker goo from painted metal and then prep the surface for a new sticker using only common household chemicals, WD40 followed with alcohol for cleanup worked well.

They make decal erasors which are like giant pencil erasers on a wheel that go on a drill.

It works well for the racecar.

In the future when removing what may be a troublesome sticker heat it with a heat gun first and then peel it off. That should take most of the adhesive with the sticker. When we recycle boxes by reusing them to ship products at work that's how we remove UPS/FedEx labels from them. 

I have a citrus based degreaser called Oranj Peelz (made by Pedros) that is amazing on sticker residue and does not harm paint at all. I buy it at the local bicycle shop but amazon has it too. Other citrus degreasers may work well too, but Oranj Peelz is all I ever use for sticker gunk.

I tried everything in my garage to remove the glue residue after cleaning decals off my old KLR motorcycle. The ONLY thing that worked effectively was the cleaner from my parts washer, and it worked great.

I've used WD40 on old cars but they have a smooth finish.  It's a thought if you run out of ideas.

I removed some stickers from a helmet I bought and used rubbing alcohol to remove the residue. Worked great.

stuart in mn said:

3M general purpose adhesive cleaner.  Should be available at any auto parts store. 

https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/3m-general-purpose-adhesive-cleaner-p-10946.aspx

 

 

I want to emphasize how strongly I agree with this. Residue that was over a year old, had been attacked with goo gone, WD40, and a plastic razor, wiped right off with a paper towel and 3M.