On Sat, 24 Mar 2018 22:01:46 -0500, -MIKE-
wrote:

On 3/24/18 8:08 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
On Sat, 24 Mar 2018 20:23:20 -0400, J. Clarke
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Mar 2018 19:59:54 -0400, JBI wrote:

I have a 1940's wooden box with nice finish that was used to store a
scientific instrument. The problem is that someone kept taping over the
lid to keep the box closed while in storage. As a consequence, there
are about 7 pieces of masking tape across the lid to box surface in
various stages of decay. Is there any way I remove the tape and residue
and keep the finish and wood intact? Thank you.

Try Goo Gone. Wipe a little bit in an inconspicuous place just to
make sure but it's safe with most finishes.


One good use for WD40 too
just soak it and let it sit. After a couple days of soaking the tape
will generally just about slide off.


Couple days!?
Clare, I've found that most goo removers do it in a few minutes.

Perhaps you need to be a little less patient with WD-40 next time.
I bet it works a lot faster than you think.

FWIW for anyone lurking, many cooking oils and sprays will do the trick
as well as goo-gone.
GooGone damagess some finishes, and you can scratch dried tape off
with wd40 pretty quickly - but if it is soaked real well the tape
slides of - no damage to the shelac or laquer finish.

I likely left it a lot longer than required - but it worked.