Once you use a sticker, you may think you’ll never need to remove it. But when you switch to a new device, you may want to take old stickers along. You may even have vintage stickers that you’d love to use again. So you’ll need to know how to reuse stickers.
To reuse stickers, remove them carefully using heat and tools like razors to keep them intact. Once you remove your sticker, use glue, sticker paper, or spray adhesive to make them sticky again.
You don’t have to say goodbye to your favorite stickers just yet. Find the right tools for the job. Having the right tools will give you the advantage of getting more than one use out of your stickers, no matter where you stick them.
You can remove and reuse your stickers based on what you have and where you want to stick your sticker. Keep reading to learn some techniques to remove, reuse, and restick your favorite stickers.
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How to reuse stickers? (Remove, reuse, and make sticky again)
To reuse stickers, remove them creatively using steam heat and blades to peel them away. Once you loosen the glue, removing the sticker and restoring stickiness using a new adhesive is simple.
No matter what tools and adhesives you use, there are a few steps to take when reusing stickers.
- Use heat, steam, or a solvent to loosen the glue on the sticker.
- Remove the sticker by gently peeling it away with a knife, scraper, tweezers, or razor blade. Be sure not to buckle to tear the edges.
- Using glue, add your adhesive, or put your sticker on sticker paper.
- When you’re ready, apply your sticker onto its new home. Be sure to apply pressure to any newly glued stickers until it’s dry.
If you want to reuse your stickers, try reusable stickers. While they don’t last forever, you can get a few uses out of them.
How to remove and keep stickers
Choose the right tools and take your time to remove and keep stickers. Heat, solvents, and tweezers will help remove stickers from all types of surfaces.
Here are a few methods to try to remove your stickers.
Heat
Heat and steam are the best and most accessible ways to remove stickers. If you have a heat gun (hot air gun) or hairdryer, you can remove a sticker from anywhere.
Keep your dryer on a low setting and direct heat as you peel on the sticker. The heat is controlled to try this on everything from laptops to walls. However, be gentle. Too much heat can damage the sticker or the surface that it’s on.
Adhesive Solvents
Mineral spirits, goo gone, natural solvents, live vegetable oil, and vinegar can remove stickers. However, not all solvents were meant to remove the sticker while keeping them intact.
Solvents work best on plastic stickers, bumper stickers, and decals designed to be placed on windows. This is because if you put vinegar or alcohol on these stickers and let them sit, the adhesive will loosen, and the sticker will stay intact. You will then peel the sticker using a razor blade or credit card.
Exacto Knife
Use an Exacto blade to remove stickers in the same way you’d use a razor. Gently place the blade under one edge of the sticker and slowly lift as you move across the sticker.
Since an Exacto knife is sharp, you can try this without using heat or a solvent, but be careful not to scratch the surface underneath.
Scrapers
A scraper is a great tool to remove a sticker with a solvent or heat. Since scrapers are thin as blades or knives, they can easily fit between a sticker’s surface. The difference between scrapers and blades is they won’t scratch the surface underneath. Use scrapers for more delicate surfaces like glass.
Tweezers
Some stickers are small, and they may not be easy to peel using your fingers. Tweezers make it simple to hold on to the edge and peel slowly without losing your grip. You will have to be careful not to pull your sticker too hard. If you do, the tweezer can rip your sticker in half. Be sure to take it slow once you get a good grip.
How to make stickers sticky again
Take your freshly removed sticker and add sticker paper to make stickers sticky again. Also, use glue and adhesive to restore stickers onto the paper and other surfaces. You can even use sticker makers and make your sticker feel like it’s been made from scratch.
Sticker Paper
Sticker paper is usually used when you are making fresh new stickers, but you can use it to save your favorite stickers as well. Stick your sticker to the sticker paper giving it a new adhesive backing.
Repositionable Glue
The best way to make something sticky again is to use glue. Repositionable glue sticks are made to bond with cardstock, pictures, and stationary. The adhesive is used to make reusable stickers.
Repositionable glue is not permanent and works on all types of materials. Once it dries, you can use your stickers again without damaging the sticker or the surface. It’s easy on porous surfaces, so you’ll want to use this if you don’t want your adhesive to damage a laptop or wall that you stick it on.
Spray Adhesive
Spray adhesive is an excellent way to restore multiple stickers at once. You can lay your old stickers on scrap paper and spray on the adhesive. Be careful not to overspray. Let the stickers dry, then place them on wax paper covered with adhesive. When you’re ready to use the stickers, peel them from the wax paper.
Adhesive Tape
Adhesive tape is an excellent way to make a sticker sticky again and store it for later. The tape has a release liner that works like double-sided tape. For smaller stickers, adhesive tape can be used like sticker paper. Stick your sticker to one side of the tape. When you are ready to use the sticker, peel the other side and place it where you want it.
Xyron Sticker Maker
Sticker makers allow you to make prints or pictures into stickers by running them through a machine. The Xyron sticker maker, for example, uses adhesive tape and is a tool that applies adhesive and places the sticker back on sticker paper.
It’s a straightforward way to take small stickers and use them repeatedly. When using the Xyron, be careful not to put the sticker in the wrong way so you don’t get the adhesive on the wrong side.
More prominent sticker makers are available for larger stickers that you want to reuse.
Anthony Stickerman shows you in this video how to use a Xyron Sticker Maker in many ways, including on puffy stickers.
Can you glue stickers?
You can glue stickers to make them stick to new surfaces. However, be careful of what kind of glue you use on certain surfaces. Some glue can damage porous surfaces, while other glue won’t stick at all.
Once you use glue on your stickers, it will be hard to reuse them again. If you use glue on sticker paper or wax paper, you can protect your surface from glue and possible damage. Try using gentle glue such as repositionable glue if you’re gluing directly to a new surface.
Summary: How to reuse stickers
To reuse stickers, be gentle and remove them without damage. Once you do, use adhesive tape, sticker paper, or glue to make them sticky again.
While it sounds easy enough, it may take time and special tools to get the job done. Using heat and solvents is fast to loosen adhesive before peeling stickers away with knives and tweezers. Remember to be careful with delicate surfaces, use scrapers, and repositionable glue when necessary.
As long as you’ve got the patience and the love for stickers, you can remove, reuse, and make your stickers sticky again in no time.