How to remove stickers from passports?

Old Oct 1, 2011, 8:04 am
  #16  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 210
Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
Put the PP under a towel and iron it until it warms the glue. Then peel them off. Use alcohol or Goo Gone for the residual glue.
careful, the iron can effect the glue in the passport, and delaminate some of the important stuff

i had a mutilated passport as a result! bad news
zerafa is offline  
Old Oct 1, 2011, 12:10 pm
  #17  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NYC, USA
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, Lifetime Platinum, Marriott Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 10,966
Wirelessly posted (Apple iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

Goo Gone all the way! Amazing product.

I don't recommend gasoline because it might cause you to alarm the ETD machine if the TSO swabs your passport.
ESpen36 is offline  
Old Oct 1, 2011, 12:15 pm
  #18  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: NYC, USA
Programs: AA EXP 3MM, Lifetime Platinum, Marriott Titanium, HH Gold
Posts: 10,966
Wirelessly posted (Apple iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

Forgot to mention that I always take off those annoying ICTS stickers as soon as the trip is over.

Although the passport is government property and legally cannot be altered/notated except by officers of the USA or foreign governments in connection with official matters, those ICTS stickers were affixed by private security personnel under contract with the airlines, so they are technically violating the law as well by attaching anything to my passport. I feel I can remove the stickers with impunity.
ESpen36 is offline  
Old Oct 1, 2011, 1:43 pm
  #19  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Retired in Houston, TX
Programs: Platinum-CO-DL-Priority Club WN A-list Diomond-Hilton-BW Gold-Choice Hertz Presidents Club
Posts: 305
After the paper is ripped off, a dab of WD-40 on a paper towel will remove the glue, but it will still smell like WD-40.

Drug Stores have an adhesive remover that smells quite pleasant.
Houston.Business is offline  
Old Oct 1, 2011, 11:36 pm
  #20  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: KAUS
Programs: UA MM
Posts: 1,118
Fingernail on fresh sticker.
perezoso is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2011, 1:45 pm
  #21  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Sxm
Programs: Aeroplan, AAdvantage, Flying Blue, TrueBlue
Posts: 253
Originally Posted by ESpen36
Wirelessly posted (Apple iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_5 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8L1 Safari/6533.18.5)

Forgot to mention that I always take off those annoying ICTS stickers as soon as the trip is over.

Although the passport is government property and legally cannot be altered/notated except by officers of the USA or foreign governments in connection with official matters, those ICTS stickers were affixed by private security personnel under contract with the airlines, so they are technically violating the law as well by attaching anything to my passport. I feel I can remove the stickers with impunity.
I couldn't agree more! that's exactly what I have always thought. I would love to ask passport issuing government agencies around the world for their opinion. Anyway, a clear plastic passport case does the trick for me.
Aelx2k is offline  
Old Oct 3, 2011, 2:16 pm
  #22  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Programs: DL NWA UA
Posts: 177
Originally Posted by FlyingUnderTheRadar
Put the PP under a towel and iron it until it warms the glue. Then peel them off. Use alcohol or Goo Gone for the residual glue.
Side note: Using iron also works well for indentations in carpet after you move furniture. they'll fluff right up.
FL2009 is offline  
Old Oct 6, 2011, 8:01 am
  #23  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: From ORK, live LCY
Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci
Posts: 14,177
I keep my passport in a cover, so don't have to worry about those godawful "security checked" stickers, and if I'm checking luggage I get the check-in agent not to put the stickers on it in the first place. What are the former stickers even for anyway?
stifle is offline  
Old Oct 7, 2011, 10:47 am
  #24  
Moderator: American AAdvantage
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Matre-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Denatured (or other) alcohol usually works fine, and I don't have to worry about a machine "sniffing" hydrocarbons (e.g. gasoline, lighter fluid, etc.) and getting a secondary.
JDiver is offline  
Old Dec 21, 2012, 4:29 am
  #25  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: NYC
Programs: AA DULtArer
Posts: 5,547
I don't recommend gasoline because it might cause you to alarm the ETD machine if the TSO swabs your passport.
It's looking for much more sophisticated things than simple hydrocarbons. Not a problem

Don't use gasoline for a solvent or safety reasons , though!
LaserSailor is offline  
Old May 1, 2013, 4:25 am
  #26  
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: London (via Tennessee, Chicago, and Toronto)
Posts: 55
Most of these responses seem to be helpful hints about how to physically remove the sticker, however I haven't found these practical answers:

1. Does the sticker peel off easily provided you remove it right away?
2. If so, is there any reason I should not peel it off my passport (immediately) and affix it to my boarding pass instead?

As far as I can tell, the ICTS stickers (or whoever does the security questioning) have nothing to do with my passport; security or gate people just need to see that I got the sticker. So, does it matter if it's on the boarding pass instead of the passport? And, is there any issue with my doing this myself, or must I ask the sticker person to do it?
candyann is offline  
Old Sep 28, 2015, 6:42 pm
  #27  
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: BOS
Posts: 814
WARNING: Do NOT use alcohol on the back of the passport. I tried a very tiny amount to remove stickers put on the back of mine and the pigment/color of the back starts to come off. Thankfully, it is not noticeable in my case, but you could void your own passport doing this.
xSTRIKEx6864 is offline  
Old Sep 29, 2015, 1:47 pm
  #28  
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: IAD
Programs: Delta AmEx Gold, United MileagePlus Explorer, Former Delta Silver Medallion & United Premier Silver
Posts: 121
Honestly, I don't remove them. I believe they make it easier to clear security on future trips.
okamzikprosim is offline  
Old Jan 4, 2017, 11:31 am
  #29  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: IND
Posts: 68
This website has a pretty nice summary:

http://www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-t...icker-residue/
ashishsg is offline  
Old Jan 4, 2017, 6:35 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: SEA
Posts: 3,945
WD40? I just leave the stickers on.
PWMTrav is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.