DVD/CD Labels

[cai]

Does anyone know how to take them off? A previous thread had a poll about problems with using labels on DVDs, I do and I want to take them off. Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you.

[tgpo]

If they don't come off by gently pulling then I say leave it on. Pulling the label off now could cause more damage to the cd, plus what ever you didn't get off the disk could come off when heated in the drive, thus causeing damage to the drive. So I'd say lesson learned leave what you've already label as they are.

[monoxide77]

i have never successfully removed a label from a CD.

[Bob W]

I have over 300 DVD's labeled and never have I had a single problem playing them in any of the three DVD player I have at home or the players my friends and family have. I just don't understand the problems some have with labels unless they put them on off center.

[You_Are_Alive]

If you really are serious about removing them, get ready for a hard task at hand. Here's what you can do.

Carefully hold the DVD/Cd by the outer edges and run some hot water over the label for about 1 minute. Just keep turning and tilting the DVD so that the label is pre-soaked with hot water. Try not to get too much water on the written side though.

then place it on a dry towel, (written side down). Get a nice big sponge to cover the entire dvd. Soak it with hot water, squeeze it a bit so that there isn't too much, and set it on the label. Now go do something else and come back in about 10-15 minutes.

Now that your back, try to pull the label off from the outer edge with your nails or some other metal or plastic edge that is dull, so as not to damage the DVD surface. If your lucky, this is all it takes. Just keep working on it, resoak areas with sponge and rub the remaining paper off with the soaked sponge and your nails or whatever.

For more stubborn labels, use nail polish remover. Take a cotton ball, soak it with the nail polish remover and in a circular motion distribute across the surface, press down firmly if necesssary. (DVD should be on flat surface and on your towel with written side on the towel and label towards you)

This will take off any paper label, i've done this about 3 times now cause I was in hurry and I paid for my mistakes by just slapping the label on, OFFCENTER. Didn't cause problems on playback, but I like my stuff to look professional, so thats why i've devised this method. Good luck, I'm sure that if you do this 3 or more times, you'll probably find more efficient ways to work so that it takes you less time to do, each time.

PS. Following this procedure, all my DVDs are still playable with no problems. I usually re-label them, but even the one's I don't re-label, the surface is as clean as it was brand new.

[Bob W]

I use a fixture from Neato to align the label on the DVD exactly centered every time. I think the fixture came with the Neato label program.

[cai]

Thank you all for your replies. I will copy the DVD, provided it plays in the computer, and then proceed to remove the label as indicated by you-are-alive. There is a solution I have seen at my office supply store, that supposedly takes off labels. I will try it and pass on my experience.

Since I only have 10 labelled DVDs, I am not that worried. However 300, I would not take that task on.

[marsmayhem]

If you're in the US, try WD40 - it works great at removing any adhesive residue. Had a label on a DVD cover (on the outside) - tried all sorts of stuff, including the girlfriend's nail polish remover (which damaged the plastic). Finally, a Google search suggested WD40 - worked like a charm, and no damage to the surface.

Good luck - hope it helps...

[tgpo]

If you're in the US, try WD40 - it works great at removing any adhesive residue. Had a label on a DVD cover (on the outside) - tried all sorts of stuff, including the girlfriend's nail polish remover (which damaged the plastic). Finally, a Google search suggested WD40 - worked like a charm, and no damage to the surface.

Good luck - hope it helps...

WD40 will remove any sticky stuff with out hurting the surface. I had someone put a bumper sticker on my car and I used WD40 to remove it no problem.

[cai]

Thank you for the suggestions on the WD-40. Last night I tried a combination of rubbing alcohol and a petroleum spirits based solvent sold with a little spatula aimed at removing labels and gum. It worked fairly well. Since I only have nine more disks to do, I will try some of the methods mentioned here and report on the ones that worked best for me.

The label removal was a complete success, in terms of disk play-back. No skipping, pixelation, or locking of image. The DVD jumped loaded to the screen. Very satisfied with the results.

Thank you again for all your suggestions.

[miketree]

If you're in the US, try WD40 - it works great at removing any adhesive residue. Had a label on a DVD cover (on the outside) - tried all sorts of stuff, including the girlfriend's nail polish remover (which damaged the plastic). Finally, a Google search suggested WD40 - worked like a charm, and no damage to the surface.

Good luck - hope it helps...

I don't think that WD-40 is region sensitive. It works in the UK too

[cai]

I have removed all my labels by using a combination of WD-40, undu, and rubbing alcohol. I used an old t-shirt to rub the WD-40 on the label, until the label became translucent. Then, I let the l liquid permeate to the gum for about one hour; I then peeled the entire label from the disk in one piece. Since I am not sure about residue, I wiped the disk, front and back with undu or rubbing alcohol. I suggest undu, because rubbing alcohol may still leave a film.

I think marsmayhem is trying to prevent WD-40 from falling into enemy hands. This stuff is almost as good as the Avon so-soft skin cream that is used for insect repellant.

In any event, thank you very much for all of your suggestions.

[MrRochie]

Greets.. I made the mistake of labeling about 40 dvd-r before I found out that it causes playback issues. So I bit the bullet and tried the WD40 removal method. It WORKED LIKE A CHAMP. ALthough it sounded like a terrible thing to do to a dvd-r all of mine came out ok and looked like they had never been labels applied. I used a cookie sheet and put saran wrap in the bottom. I sprayed WD40 in it like PAM. a good heavy coating, then I layed the dvd-r label side down and left them for about an hour. (you have to leave them long enough for the wd to absorb through the label and the glue. After about an hour the labels peeled right off with little or no effort. Then rinsed the DVD-r in a mild soapy solution. and dried them with a very soft cloth.(Diapers should work well). They looked brand new and played in all my liteon dvd player. I was amazed. I would recommend doing it outside because of the WD odor.....