I hope I got this question in the correct subfoorum, but here goes anyway.

My windscreen has acquired quite a collection of those Swiss and Austrian highway toll vignettes, and I really want to clean away the old ones before putting in 2008 ones (I really like to have as few of these things as possible on my screen). Problem is, they either leave residue (Austrian ones) or, in the case of the Swiss ones, seem to be permanently welded on by some mystery agent.

Has anyone successfully removed these things and can offer tips on how to get them off cleanly without damaging the screen?

 

Mac, you need to go to a hardware store and pick up a paint scraper with a razor blade, it will come off very easily with a few scrapes , and no it wont scratch your glass.

Cheers

 

use a bit of thinner (dutch invention) or sticker remover. do this when it's dry outside and you can leave the windows open.... (it STINKS) this avoids scratches.

also an option to heat it with a very good hair dryer (max power) or a paint stripper (NOT max power). don't do this when the window is freezing cold and you heat only a part of it.

 

Thanks for the input guys!

I ended up going at it with a sharp blade, which got the thing off slowly but surely. Didn't have any thinners to hand, but a kitchen towel soaked with screenwash concentrate sorted out the residue. Got my 2008 stickers on there now and am all ready for our Amsterdam-Munich-Innsbruck-Salzburg-Milan-Venice-Lucerne-Basel-Frankfurt-Amsterdam trip that kicks off on Friday.

 

Next time use a plastic scraper and some solvent like "Goo Gone" or WD-40. (It's much safer for the windshield to use the plastic scraper and the solvent will allow everything to dissolve without the need for too much scraping...)

 

before you apply next year's stickers, polish with carwax. if only for a very short time polish with something greasy (vaseline) or with dishwashing agent.

That's how we used to switch stickers between cars. Maybe somewhat illegal....

 

....being an Austrian and just having bought a new vignette, i can share the following experience with you:
- first of all, don't do it when the car has been standing somewhere for a while. make sure that windscreen is warm.
- you can use a ice scraper to remove the big parts of it
- you remove the bits and pieces with the window cleaner and a cloth

and btw: make sure you do not have more than 3 vignettes - that makes the valid one void...

 

goo gone works well

 

A trick my dad uses : Before sticking the vignette to the window, quickly stick it and pull it away from your jeans/hand/anything so that the "glue" isn't that strong anymore. (no, it doesn't leave any visible marks.....) after repeating this a few times, stick it to the window without firmly pressing down on it