How to make a sticker sticky again

In the past we have outlined many different ways to help you remove stickers and decals from different surfaces, but what if you’re looking to do the opposite?

What if your favorite sticker or decal has started to peel and lose its stickiness, is it possible to make a sticker stick again?

In some cases, it may be possible to restore the adhesive on the back of a sticker, but it will require the use of a 3rd party product. Unfortunately, once the original adhesive on the back of the sticker/decal has dried out or has lost its stickiness, there’s not really a good way to bring it back to life. You can, however, add a new layer of adhesive that will help your sticker stick again.

Making a Sticker Sticky Again

While the adhesive on the back of a sticker can dry out or become un-sticky after longer periods of time, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to reapply a new adhesive. Reapplying a new adhesive to your stickers can give them new life with little effort.

Before you start trying to add new adhesive to the backs of your stickers, you should first determine if the sticker itself is the problem. It could also be the material that the sticker is stuck to.

Stickers and decals need a smooth, clean surface in order to properly stick, and stay stuck. If the material you are trying to stick your sticker to is rough or has dirt and debris on it, then there’s a good chance that your sticker isn’t going to stay adhered to whatever it is you’re trying to stick it to.

If the surface isn’t the issue, then the adhesive on the back of the sticker is probably the culprit and needs to be repaired.

Spray Adhesive Method

As we mentioned, to make a sticker sticky again will require an external adhesive, in this case spray adhesive. You can find spray adhesive, like 3M Super 77, at any arts and crafts store.

These spray adhesives act as a glue when used to attach two things together but can also be used to help renew the backs of stickers.

By spraying the adhesive on the back of your stickers and then letting them dry, you can return your stickers to all their stickiness. This will allow you to then reattach them to wherever they were falling off and they should continue to hold.

Rubber Cement

Rubber cement is a great tool when glue may not be an option, and it can help adhere those old stickers to various surfaces. And while this may not technically restore the stickiness to your old stickers, you will still be able to remove the stickers from the surface if you’re careful.

We don’t recommend using this method on paint or other surfaces that may come off with the sticker, but it’s perfect for scrapbooking and similar projects.

What you’ll want to do first is apply the rubber cement to the back of the sticker and then let the rubber cement dry. Once that is done, repeat the process for a second time.

After the rubber cement is dry for the second time you should then be able to stick the old sticker to a surface and fairly easily remove it if you need to reposition it.

Bringing a sticker back to life isn’t always going to work 100% of the time. Once the adhesive on the back of the sticker is no longer sticky, it will need to be replaced in order for it to be sticky again. Fortunately there are a variety of adhesives available to help.

I have some old stickers from my collection that are almost fallen off of their backing paper. I was wondering if there's a decent way to restore them and they would still be stickers (would be able to peel them off of paper and apply to whatever surface). Any suggestions?

asked Jan 15, 2015 at 17:30

4

This may not be a life hack as it describes using an adhesive agent, but it is a great fix for the sticker problem. I am not certain it was designed to fix stickers so this may still be a hack... but nonetheless, here is my answer:

Elmer's makes a "rubber cement" which is basically a contact cement. I have used this to create stickers out of normal paper before, but never as a solution to "fix" old stickers.

Basically you apply the adhesive to the sticker an allow it to dry. you can then apply a second coat to the backing paper and allow this to dry. once they are both dry you can attach them to one another and the bond will hold.

With my home-made stickers I haven't had the need to remove them from the original surface, short of repositioning them when being first placed. I would assume that since I was able to readjust and have the sticker affix itself in the new position with ease, that you would be able to use this method to make a non-permanent sticker fixer solution.

answered Jan 15, 2015 at 19:02

PhlumePhlume

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2

To actually make a sticker sticky again without using any kind of tape, the easiest way I found would be using a spray adhesive, as shown here.

Another solution would be double-sided tape. But since that is fairly expensive you could stick (pun intended) to plain clear tape. Just roll a piece of clear tape (size depending on size of the sticker) into a loop with the sticky side on the outer side. Then attach this loop to your sticker and then stick it to the surface you want your sticker on. I personally use this "clear-tape-loop" anytime I want to stick something not that heavy somewhere.

If you want to remove the sticker sometime later I would stay away from any kind of glue (super glue, glue sticks, etc.) since those will leave glue residues. I actually didn't try the spray adhesive method myself, so I can't tell if it will leave residue as well.

answered Jan 16, 2015 at 9:04

AlexAlex

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Use Eclectic Products, Inc.'s "E6000 Extreme Tack" repositionable glue. I've been using it on paper scrapbooking stickers that do not stick to my matte-finish painted interior walls (paper-on-paper adhesives are notoriously weak) with total success. Extremely sticky, dries clear, not very expensive, comes off without staining, repositionable (as the label says), and available on Amazon as well as other websites. Use sparingly as directed and you will be pleased with the results.

answered Jan 27, 2017 at 17:46

Rinse the sticky part with water, then wait 30-50 minutes for it to dry, all done!

answered May 31, 2016 at 5:25

1

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