My wife and I are now remodeling a kitchen in an 18 year old home.
In the process, we are painting all of the kitchen cabinets, inside
and out.

My question is: 
What is the best way to remove contact paper that has been applied to
all of the cabinet shelves?
After the contact paper is removed, what is the best way to remove the
sticky residue remaining on all of the wood shelves?

Hello,

Using a hair dryer seems like the best way to remove contact paper.
All the Do-It-Yourselfers on messageboards and the like recommend this
as the best way.

One website listing helpful household tips says:
"To take hard-to-remove contact paper off shelving, use your
blowdryer. The heat will make the paper peel right off."

Yet another agrees with the blowdryer methond stating:
"To remove contact paper from shelves or drawers, use your blowdryer.
It will melt the glue and the paper should peel right off."

Here's a bit of warning though, although the kitchen contact paper is
probably on a wooden drawer and not drywall, if it is old, becareful
not to rip up the surface by ripping too hard:
"Be careful taking that paper off! With an older house the drywall can
be delicate. (I learned this after scraping off half of my drywall
when I was removing wallpaper last year). Try warming the contact
paper with a hairdryer or warm water. This helps to loosen the glue on
the back and it will be easier to pull off."

Now that the contact paper's off, I'd say use Goo Gone. I've used it
countless number of times on such things as sticker-goo left on car
windows, and ducttape-goo on lawn furniture. It's very cheap, and you
can find it at any Home Depot, WalMart, etc. It's also safe to use on
wood, and is specially designed to remove sticky goo. If you have
butane, you can use that too, it will dissolve small amounts of goo,
but I suggest against using this as your primary way of removing
contact paper-goo because of the large area you'll be working with.
You don't want to be pouring butane all over your kitchen! Good luck,
and hope your remodeling goes well.


Search Strategy:

"remove contact paper" on google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22remove+contact+paper%22

"contact paper removal" on google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22contact+paper+removal%22


Additional Links:

Helpful Tips:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/1239/tips.html

hints:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/1321/hints.html

All About Home messageboard:
http://www.allabouthome.com/messageboard/kitchen/messages/88.html

Goo Gone product page:
http://www.magicamerican.com/googone.shtml


Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question, if you require
more information, please clarify the question, or if you find this
answer satisfactory, please feel free to rate it. Thank you!
  
skermit-ga

Answered my question 100%:   5 Stars

I can personally testify to the wonder of Goo Gone.  Just yesterday, I
got outdoor caulk all over my fingers.  I used Goo Gone and it came
off easily and immediately. After using it to remove the sticky
residue from your cabinet shelves, I recommend Spic N' Span to clean
the Goo Gone from the surface before painting.

If you are unable to find Goo Gone, choose from among the many
citrus-based removers such as De-Solv-It, available at Wal-Mart
(sometimes it's in the automotive section - great for removing tar
from vehicle surfaces).

Great answer, Skermit!