sticker removal from G1 boxes?

[janda the red]

hey all... hope everyone's well :D

i've been wondering about this for awhile and haven't managed to dig up any satisfactory answers about it.

is there a way to get price stickers off vintage tf boxes? obviously without damaging the box art...

has anyone had sucess with a certain product? or can point me in the right direction? or worse case.... what not to do!

i ask because a misb jet i'm looking at has a sticker in the top right corner, i'd prefer one without... but if it'll come off, it may be worth grabbing.

anyways...

thanks in advance

janda :)

[reillyd]

You really run the risk of ruining the box, because often it takes the box art with it. AFA, the company that grades toys and slabs them in acrylic tombs, recommends never to remove, as most collectors don't mind and it lowers the value to have a damaged box. I have heard of goo remover working, but never on tags that are more than a decade old.

[janda the red]

thanks for the quick reply reillyd...

my first thoughts were that it'd be extremely hard too, hopefully someone's tried something and had some luck.

maybe an experiment is in order?

janda :)

[blackie]

lighter fluid

[gamblor916]

Yep Zippo lighter fluid. Just search for Heroic Decepticon's posts about it.

[5FDP]

I haven't removed any stickers from my G1 boxes, but I have found a pencil eraser to be quite effective in removing old stickers / residue. it won't scratch and there is no risk of liquid stains.

[jaydisc]

Lighter fluid:

http://heroicdecepticon.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-remove-price-tags-stickers-from.html

[janda the red]

thanks for the replies guys...

i just read HD's blog about zippo fluid.... seems like it's the thing to try.

i think i'll be quietly sh!tting myself the first time i try this though... lol

janda :)

[theheretic]

Cool! Never heard of this technique before but I will definitely be using it on a couple of my boxes. Thanks HD

[GoktimusPrime]

janda: Do you have anything else in your possession from the 1980s other than Transformer boxes that might still have a price sticker on it? e.g. board game box, book cover etc.? If so, try using the lighter fluid technique on one of those first before trying it on a Transformers box or card. If not, maybe try the technique on a card first before trying on a box. Or maybe get a not so old toy (like maybe a Robots In Disguise or Beast Wars toy) and try the technique on that. <shrug>

I personally don't mind keeping price tags on what few sealed toys I have actually -- it's part of the memento - in terms of how much the toy costed at the time and what not. For example, my Optimus Primal Vs Megatron set cost US$7.99, discounted from US$12.00 at KB Toys. My CD ROM Convobat Vs Megalligator set cost me 2860JPY. There's no way I'd remember this if I hadn't kept the price stickers on... unless I find some other source that tells me what the RRP for toys were. So yeah, I like keeping the price stickers on because it's part of the nostalgia -- I look at it and think of the memories attached to getting that toy. :)

[janda the red]

i was already thinking the same gok... i'll dig up something to practice on before moving to the real thing. i hear you about the nostalgia associated with price tags... i dont mind them as long as they're not on the front of the box covering the main image.

janda :)

[5FDP]

I personally don't mind keeping price tags on what few sealed toys I have actually -- it's part of the memento - in terms of how much the toy costed at the time and what not.

^ Agree 100% You're starting to sound more and more like a MISB collector :D

[liegeprime]

just be sure to keep away from heat and other flames when your doing this, and open air in case of fumes and stuff.

[GoktimusPrime]

^ Agree 100% You're starting to sound more and more like a MISB collector :D

0.02% of my collection is sealed - all of which are either doubles or variants of moulds I already own.
0.001% of my collection is sealed that I had intentionally collected to keep sealed - the others were gifts from people who didn't know that I already had those toys.

So I guess that makes me a 0.001% sealed collector :p :)

[canofwhoopass_87]

You really run the risk of ruining the box, because often it takes the box art with it. AFA, the company that grades toys and slabs them in acrylic tombs, recommends never to remove, as most collectors don't mind and it lowers the value to have a damaged box. I have heard of goo remover working, but never on tags that are more than a decade old.

AFA also dish out lower grades for sealed articles with the pricetag sticker still stuck on.

Personally, I very much prefer to have the them left on - makes it a more "credible" vintage piece. The only downside I can see is knowing you paid 10x the amount that's printed on those pricetags :p

[janda the red]

i wish i'd only paid 10 times the amount for my G1 stuff... lol

i just did a quick calc, for my misb thrust... he cost 25 times the original purchase price :o

worth every penny :D

interesting to hear everyones opinion on stickers though, i guess it doesn't phase me as long as it's not on the front of the box.

janda :)