Warning to those removing stickers and goo on Vaio Z11

I finally got around to taking the stickers off of the palmrest on my Z11, and I was left with a lot of goo. I was too lazy to pick up "goo gone" cleaner so I just rubbed off the sticker goo with my thumb. Problem is, it left a "carbon footstep" of where the sticker goo was which, no matter how hard I try, I can't clean. If I look at it at a certain angle, I can see a whole pattern of where I rubbed the sticker goo off. It's really really ugly and I would advise anyone getting around to it to be smart about it and buy goo gone.

I wonder if I can maybe replace the palm rest?? lol It's really bad.

Ah well, how did you guys go about doing it?

 

Aw that's unfortunate =( Sorry about that. I just made sure to find a piece of paper thin and hard enough to uplift the stickers (i.e. a movie ticket stub) and kept edging the stickers. Slowly and steadily I lifted the stickers up, ensuring that the goo from the stickers would peel off each other.

It's all about doing it very slowly. I think a good tip is if you plan on removing the stickers then do it as soon as possible. The more you apply pressure to the palm rest from regular use, the more difficult the stickers will be to take off.

I also applied a skin from bestskinsever.com immediately after sticker removal to prevent from the plastic palm rest eroding from regular use.

 

I wouldn't use goo gone or any other solvent to remove the adhesive.

Lift the sticker, then use the sticker itself to remove any left over schmutz.

You might try using some standard or duct tape to see if the :footprint" is just skin oil and adhesive.

I'm not aware of anybody buying the palm rest, but it is replaceable. Find the part, and you should be good.

If you got the accidental damage coverage, you could also try Sony to get it replaced.

 

just tossing this out there but i used goo-gone on my Toshiba satellite I had years ago and it actually melted the plastic on the laptop lid. especially bad near where the clear plastic RF lens was. which made it unusable. its not like i left it on there to long either. all i did was wet a cloth with it and wipe and it like dissolved the whole front edge of the lid. so just dont use that stuff. its nasty.

 

try some rubbing alcohol at least 80% or higher...that stuff does wonders with a paper towel

 

Funny I have used GOO GONE and all the GOO came out > no side effects

 

you are lucky. it destroyed the front of my toshiba. (it was polished tinted plastic). if you held it u at the light you can see how it melted and got pulled to the side from the cloth.

that was my random death computer. i picked it up one day while it was running and the battery fell out. never ran again after that. computer rapair said it was damaged motherboard. ive never heard of that happening to any one else either so this laptop was cursed

 

I think it's a question of concentration / strength of solution used. As in the case of automotive detailing, try the weakest solution first, if it doesn't work, either increase the concentration (e.g. less dilution of alcohol) or change to a more abrasive one (e.g. sandpaper of lower grit). And always try on a small inconspicuous area first.

 

All good suggestions guys. If goo gone is capable of what I just read, than yeah, maybe I wasn't so wise to suggest it. :S

I also fixed my problem. It was a "carbon footprint" of skin oil and the goo left over. I tried and tried to get it off with everything I can think of. Funny story though, as my forehead rested in my palm in defeat, I tried one last time to rub it off with my fingers, but the oil from my face went on my laptop from my fingers which I had placed on my forehead. Disgusted, I started to wipe it away with a paper towel, AND IT WORKED. Like a wax, my facial oil mixed with sweat was finally able to lift the spots and polish the marks off and now everything is perfect.

If all else fails, including alchohol, rubbing, heat, and all kinds of cleaning solvents, try your forehead. lol

I know, I wish I was kidding too but I am 100% serious. And 100% oily.

 

its best to do it right away if you wait it causes that issue.

 

Same issue here with the OP. Except mine is a 1 and a half year old Z, and the 'plastic' stickers (the DLNA and ENERGY STAR) on the right of the laptop were finally wearing off. Having read of that poor fellow with the new Z who has marks after removing (metallic) stickers on his machine a few days back, I thought as Zoinks pointed out, I would remove the gunk left behind with the adhesive itself.

Ok - the problem here is this (for me at least). The sticker was on my laptop for 1.5 years. Been exposed to heat, sun, cold, what-have-you during that time. Alas, trying to remove the gunk with the adhesive of the removed sticker just made it worse - more gunk.

So I got my clean thumb, and just wiped and rubbed (not hard enough to cause the metal to wear though). About 15 minutes of rubbing later, done, and I gave it a quick wipe with a microfibre cloth and my breath (fogging).

The problem is that you can see where the sticker once was. That 'part' of my palm rest is less shiny than the rest of the palm rest. I took off the DLNA sticker first, so thought I would take it easy with the rubbing with the energy star sticker. Same result.

I don't think my issue is AS bad as the OP; the marks can only be seen from an angle.

So basically, as BooBoo says, remove the stickers as soon as you get your lappie - don't wait around.

Does anyone know where to get the bluray decals that the VAIO Z's come with? The original ones that comes with the Zs are the exact size as the DLNA sticker, whereas the ones I see on ebay are either fake or are not as long as the original (and no worries, upgrading my optics to a BD drive soon anyways). And while we are at it, how about a FULL HDD sticker (the exact same small ones the new Zs come with) as well? And maybe also the exact ENERGY STAR sticker too (found a neat place to stick one on my Z...)

 

There's one more thing to try from the detailer's domain: clay. It's this play-doh / plasticine-like material that you can rub against the panel, with something like soap acting as a lubricant. As it comes across surface contaminants, they stick to it and are lifted off. When the surface is clean, there's no friction. It's not a solvent, and non-abrasive. Clay is to detailing as SSD is to computing, when I first used it I thought it was magic. A chunk around the size of a bar of soap would be around $10-$20.

But this would be a bit extreme (for laptops), only because I've never heard anyone use it on palm rests. Then again I've not heard of issues with palm rests either

 

i used my fingernail to remove the stickers. Worked well. No marks.

 

I have 2 suggestions:

1 - Use an eraser, the soft white kind (Staedtler is a good brand). They are great for removing sticker/label gunk off of any hard surface, just erase away at it, and wipe off the crumbs.

2 - Use a hot compress. Use some paper towel and dip it in very hot water (don't burn your hands), then squeeze out the excess moisture and place the hot/damp paper towel over the "goo" for 30 seconds or so. That will soften it up, then you can use a dry paper towel to wipe off the softened goo.

 

Poohkie,

A user reported that method #1 effectively destroyed his palm rest. NOT RECOMMENDED.

 

Actually clay is a very fine abrasive, but it also absorbs.
You use the lubricant to reduce what little abrasiveness is there, but make no mistake it is an abrasive.

The lubricant is just soapy water.

 

Where? Not in this thread, that I could find. But even so, one anecdote is not definitive, especially noting that different laptops have different finishes.

My point is: with ALL of these suggestions, ALWAY ALWAYS ALWAYS try first on some inconspicuous spot first. What works on one laptop may be a disaster on another and vice versa.

Gary

 

Pray, tell, where is the inconspicuous spot on the palm rest?

My recommendation is to warm the stickers with a hair dryer and remove them before they have a chance to cool down again. For residual glue, don't rub, but lift it off with the glue on the sticker. If you've tossed away the sticker, use a band-aid. Press down, lift, repeat.

 

ScuderiaConchiglia,

Here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...7-official-owners-thread-386.html#post6168832

And here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...7-official-owners-thread-391.html#post6171177

I agree with Arth1. The safest solution, at least in my experience, is to use the sticker itself to remove the adhesive. I did this to remove all of my stickers, including all the ones on the bottom (except the Win7 sticker).

I didn't need the hair drier, but it may help.

 

The one addn sticker i have is the warranty info sticker which i thought keeps all the info handy.

 

For what it's worth, I've used the non-sticky part of Postit Index Tabs ( Post-it® Index Strong Flags / Tabs 25mm 686-PGO for only £6.35) to get under the stickers and then the stickers themselves to remove any left over adhesive.

It has left no marks that I've been able to see.

 

That person probably used a nasty hard pink eraser, which is crap.

I suggest the soft white erasers. Of couse it does also depend on the laptop build quality. If the plastic is solid the colour should not change, if it is plastic with a finish/coating of a different colour...well then...

Why not cover up the goo/discolouration of palm rest by trying to remove goo spot of the old sticker with a new sticker on top!

Problem. Solved. haha

 

I have to tell you that I am experiencing the same/similar results...and I removed the stickers a mere one week or so after receiving the laptop. The symptom is not leftover residue nor stick nor (I think) any dirt left behind. It it not detectible to the touch. It is only visible, as indicated, from certain angles, most notably when the shine of a reflection would otherwise bounce off of that spot to your eyes. If I had to guess, I would say that the stickers took some sort of glossy finish off the palmrest when removed. What's left behind is a...well... less shiny spot in the exact shape of the stickers that were removed.

The only method I used to remove the stickers was a slow, deliberate pull and the sticker itself to remove the adhesive.

 

Speaking as an owner of two Z11's, the eraser solution is a poor one.

The Eraser Method

• There isn't an inconspicuous area on the palmrest to test on.
• Apparently, you need to use a vinyl eraser. I haven't used a pencil in years so I'd have to hit the store to get one.
• The method uses friction to lift the adhesive.

The Sticker Method

• No friction
• You have the sticker in your hand, use it. No tools necessary
• Multiple Z11 users have reported that it works

 

Ditto with FrinkTL. The area where the sticker used to be is less glossy, and is visible from certain angles. And yes; I removed my sticker goo with the stickers themselves until I was forced to resort to rubbing with my finger and microfibre cloth (the stickers were far too old, in that it was rather spreading goo rather than removing).

This is on a old Z with the metallic palm rest.

I am considering new stickers to cover up the issue.
I'll ask again I guess:

1. Where could I find the EXACT BLURAY sticker for the Vaio Z? The ones on eBay are larger than the ones found on the Z originally, which casts doubt on their durability....
2. Where could one find the FULL HD and ENERGY STAR sticker, both about 10mm squares? Again, preferabbly not ebay...

Cheers in advance.

 

Amongst the sea of people trying to rid their Z of stickers, you're the only person who wants more Maybe there's someone who doesn't want theirs and are willing to send them to you? I got rid of my Energy Star sticker some time ago, I kept the rest on the left palm rest...

 

But I had my Z now for a year and a half now and those stickers were getting grubby, so I thought I'd just get rid of them now... only to come across the marks.

I would have prefered a 'stickerless' Z too if the marks weren't there. But they are there, pretty visible in daylight....

I got rid of the paper-back stickers (DLNA, ENERGY STAR). Everything metallic (on the left side) are still there.

And mind you, removing a sticker in one piece is quite a feat (let alone in good condition). That plus the adhesive will become useless once removed.

 

Kidding

Since the problem is the palm rest looking odd, why not replace that? I don't know how difficult or costly that is though...

 

Ahaha~~
All good - I feel like I'm offending all those TRYING to get rid of the stickers here actually.

I have the older Z, meaning I have to replace the entire keyboard (palmrest and keyboard on the older Z are one piece parts). That alone the last time I checked was US$110. Considering I'm planning a huge mod for this Z, and considering that involves about US$1.5K, the keyboard is something I will NOT EVEN CONSIDER, for the moment at least...

As long as the keyboard is working, then I'm happy. Though I did have to hit a dent back into shape a few weeks back; final result is the dent is pretty much gone minus some scratches which I hope doesn't start rusting...

 

Hey, if anyone feels fine with the stickers, good for them. To me, the edges of them are too scratchy for comfort.

It's not impossible that the solvent used on the stickers will attack the plastic or lacquer, in which case it should be a warranty issue.
I haven't had a problem with that on the old Z, but I get a feeling that someone at Sony mixed up the adhesive to be used for the feet and fingerprint reader with the adhesive used for the stickers. Cause the feet fall off, the fingerprint reader slides, but the stickers won't come off easily. Either that, or a bean counter pinched a yen by buying the cheapest glues.

 

I agree with Zoinks here. This is the easiest way to do it. Just first peel off the sticker and then use duct tape to pull off any leftover adhesive. (Stick the tape to the spot and pull. The tape will pull off the adhesive) No need for any weird solvents.