The most ways to remove double-sided adhesive from window frames

How to remove the double-sided adhesive from window frames? Sometimes, double-sided adhesive tape or adhesive residue may stick to doors and windows. Think for example of the glass doors of shops and bars, which often have signs with schedules, posters and so on attached to them, often with double-sided tape.

But think also of those practical hooks hanged on the window frames, pre-equipped with double-sided tape, and so on. And, while double-sided adhesive tape is very fast and practical to place, it is necessary to take some extra care when removing it.

It should be stressed that, with the passage of time, the double-sided adhesive tape glue becomes more difficult to remove all at once, requiring a few more steps to get perfectly clean frames afterwards.

This is due to the fact that strong double-sided adhesive tape is, if one had to simplify the structure entirely, of three different layers, namely a layer of glue, a load-bearing layer and another layer of glue; while it is always rather easy to remove objects stuck together by means of adhesive tape, it is often difficult to remove the glue residues remaining on one or both objects because the glue, rather than detaching from objects, often ends up detaching from the “load-bearing” layer of the double-sided tape.

And it is precisely for this reason that you need to know the exact techniques to remove double-sided adhesive tape from frames without doing damage!

Today, then, we will have a look at how to remove industrial double-sided tape from frames, therefore from the glass and the frame, be it made of aluminium, PVC, or wood!

How to remove double-sided adhesive tape from frames: wood

In many cases the windows of our homes are made of wood, carefully processed and painted.
To remove double-sided adhesive tape from wooden surfaces without doing damage it is always necessary to think about the fact that this is a fairly delicate material, which can be affected or stained very easily: unlike materials such as glass, aluminium and PVC, wood is very porous, and susceptible to bumps and cutting.

First, in case of particularly stubborn double-sided tape, it is possible to use heat jet on it, which will help soften the glue; we can simply use our normal hair dryer, directing the hot air jet on the double-sided tape.

This will make it easier to detach the two objects held by the double-sided adhesive. At this point, however, you could be dealing with glue residue on the wooden frame itself; it is known that this material could be affected a lot by a “mechanical” removal of the glue, for example using the blade of a knife to scratch it off.

Much better, then, is to use the hot air jet methods again, to further soften the glue residue, and then try to gently scrape away the glue using a plastic scraper (such as those used in winter to remove ice from the windshield of a car) or an old plastic card.

This way, you should be able to remove the residues of industrial double-sided adhesive tape from the frames without doing any damage. In the case of particularly stubborn glue, more can be done.

The trick is to soften the glue with emollients and/or lubricants, and then proceed with the removal with a piece of cloth or a scraper, as above. Simple solutions of water mixed with white and lemon vinegar, soap water or, in the case of well-painted wood in good condition, vegetable oil (such as olive oil, seed oil or linseed oil) can help in this regard.  
After letting one of these substances act for a few minutes you can gently rub the area affected by the glue with a cloth, then use the scraper.

How to remove double-sided adhesive from frames: glass, aluminium, or PVC

Now that the way to remove double-sided adhesive tape from frames in their most porous component was outlined, we’ll direct our attention, instead, to the glass typically present on almost all external windows, as well as the frames of doors and windows made with PVC or aluminium.

We no longer have to deal with a particularly delicate material such as wood, thus it will be possible to use some extra “weapons”. For example, it will be possible to gently use a razor blade to remove any glue residue.

To avoid scratching the glass or finishing of PVC or aluminium, after softening the glue residues through the methods seen above, you will need to use the razor blade at an angle, removing one millimetre of glue at a time.

In the case of glass and most aluminium frames, moreover, it will be possible to use, in addition to the substances seen above, solvents such as alcohol and acetone as well, to make it even easier and faster to remove double-sided adhesive tape residues from frames.