Sip n' Tip Tuesday - Removing Dry Adhesive from Paper

some examples of dry adhesives

Welcome to my first ever Sip n' Tip Tuesday tutorial -- where you can sip your tea, while checking out my tip of the week.  This week I'm starting with my most favorite papercrafting tip EVER -- how to remove strong dry adhesive from your paper once you've stuck it down, without ripping your paper.  Oh yeah! 

One of my pet peeves when I'm crafting is when I adhere paper together with a strong dry adhesive (I usually use Scor-Tape) and realize I've gotten it crooked, or put it in the wrong place.  If you try to pull it apart the paper just rips and you've gotta start over--how annoying is that?!  A couple years ago I was assembling kits for one of my classes that had a lot of moving parts.  I had a variety of samples I was using, and for one sample in particular I had just used the last of my paper--and yes, I made a mistake when I adhered it together...upside down.  I happened to have my heat gun out, as I was using it for embossing, so on a whim I decided to try to heat the glue through the cardstock and it worked like a charm!  No ripped paper, and when I reattached it to the project correctly, I only had to flatten it back down with the original adhesive and no one was the wiser.

So here's how it works -- starting at the edge of the paper you need released, hold the heat gun to the paper as you would if you were embossing.  Don't keep in in one place for too long, then gently pry apart the paper.  If you are lifting edges the paper will be HOT.  Use tweezers to pull the paper apart to start.  If you can anchor down the bottom paper (or have a friend help), gently pull away the top paper while heating so you can pull it apart continuously, otherwise heat only a small section at time and pull away only the section that still retains the heat.  Once the paper cools it WILL rip, so take your time.  If you have a large section you're heating or even a small bitty section your trying to remove, it's takes a bit of finesse to do it yourself--it will help if you slide a release sheet (paper that the stickers have been removed will work) between the sections already pulled so if you drop the top paper the adhesive won't reattach itself. 


Remember, I'm using my other hand to take the photo.  =)

What I've found so far that this method will remove:  Scor-Tape, Ranger Wonder Tape (or other red line double stick tape), ATG (Advanced Tape Glider) Adhesive, Tombo Adhesive, or any other permanent dry adhesive, glue dots, stickers, foam pop dots (the foam will melt if you're not careful, only minimal heat needed to remove), and certain packaging can be opened with your heat gun by heating the glue (since some packaging glues may emit toxic fumes, please use extreme caution if using this method -- if you're unsure, don't do it). 
If you find other things that the heat gun works in removing, please make sure to add your comment so we can keep this updated.  I welcome all your comments.

Enjoy your cuppa!
Lisa