Sticky film on stainless steel dishwasher

mauraf · 12-04-2021 9:13pm #1

Hi
I got a new kitchen fitted last week before we moved into our news house. All new white goods used, except dishwasher which was already in the house.
The kitchen refit people seem to have used a sticky film on the door of the dishwasher....maybe to protect it? At least, I don’t think it was on it before hand...
Any idea how to remove it? Seems stubborn and don’t want to get a knife to it..
Thanks
Maura

Dr_Colossus · 12-04-2021 10:15pm

mauraf wrote: »

Hi
I got a new kitchen fitted last week before we moved into our news house. All new white goods used, except dishwasher which was already in the house.
The kitchen refit people seem to have used a sticky film on the door of the dishwasher....maybe to protect it? At least, I don’t think it was on it before hand...
Any idea how to remove it? Seems stubborn and don’t want to get a knife to it..
Thanks
Maura

White spirits is usually very good at removing glue residue, use on a rag and scrum away.

Mimon · 12-04-2021 10:19pm

Dr_Colossus wrote: »

White spirits is usually very good at removing glue residue, use on a rag and scrum away.

Alcohol wipes would be good also and not leave the smell of white spirits. Probably need decent strength ones. >60%

mauraf · 12-04-2021 10:34pm

Thank you!

Anyone know what this film is - or why it was put on it?
My husband is thinking they pulled a cover off the door and this film was underneath....?

Helping to solve a discussion as well as ideas to get it off :-)

Fine Cheers · 12-04-2021 10:50pm

Post a pic if you can, you'd imagine a protective film would come off fairly easily.

mauraf · 13-04-2021 8:05am

See attached. Any thoughts?

Padre_Pio · 13-04-2021 8:11am

Stops it getting marked by spatter when getting laser cut in manufacturing and scratched during shipping.

Sky King · 13-04-2021 8:15am

Stainless sheeting comes with protective film on it to stop it being scratched during manufacturing. A lot of manufacturers build the component but leave the protection on it, as it in turn protects their finished product.

It is hard to tell from the pic if this is the case with yours though.

The easiest way to remove protective film from stainless sheeting is to heat it up. You should be able to get a fingernail under it then and simply peel it off. - a hairdryer would probably be sufficient. Don't go at it with a knife, you'll scratch the s--- out of it.

NickNickleby · 13-04-2021 8:18am

Try warming one corner with a hairdryer and see will it peel off. Do I see bubbles under it? If so, then perhaps it's is a protective cover that has sort of cured with time. Ha e seen that happen with "this side in" stickers on windows, which came off using gentle heat from a hairdryer.

minikin · 13-04-2021 8:19am

This material is static-cling rather than attached with adhesive - there won’t be any residue left on the surface - no need for alcohol/heat/blade etc.
The whole point of it is to protect the finished surface from marks and grime - so they don’t use materials which would leave an adhesive or other residue - this is not vinyl!

Just open the dishwasher door, grab a corner of the protective film and pull!

(Lots of industry experience working with aluminium / die-bond materials / vinyl... have removed more protective film than had hot dinners)

NickNickleby · 13-04-2021 8:20am

NickNickleby wrote: »

Try warming one corner with a hairdryer and see will it peel off. Do I see bubbles under it? If so, then perhaps it's is a protective cover that has sort of cured with time. Ha e seen that happen with "this side in" stickers on windows, which came off using gentle heat from a hairdryer.

Ha! Beaten to the punch by skyking. Need to up my wpm :-)

colm_mcm · 13-04-2021 8:22am

Check with the builder.

My dishwasher has a plastic film on it and it’s supposed to be there.

mauraf · 13-04-2021 8:48am

Thank you for all the replies.
This was an 'old' dishwasher ie it was already in use and hadnt had this cover on it before, prior to the builders coming in. Would the builders have put this on to protect it while they worked? My other half thinks they removed an outer layer...:-/

listermint · 13-04-2021 9:52am

It's off the shelf protection film.

Just peel it off asap. Before it gets really difficult to pull off.

Do it now rather than waiting. It's easy to remove if you get a nice corner of it.

Papa_Bear · 13-04-2021 7:17pm

As others have said, there shouldn't be any adhesive so should just pull off in one go usually.

However, if there is adhesive get some silicone oil and apply liberally to soften the adhesive and you should be able to wipe away easily. It smells quite strong so will need to be washed with a product of your choice like flash etc.

I have successfully removed some of the stickiest adhesive with this method..

Sometimes if the film is removed too fast the adhesive will seperate and remain on the surface which is why some light heating can be helpful.

If there are just some small areas of adhesive on the surface you can try using a piece of sticky tape like electrical insulation tape to remove it by applying it to the are and slowly removing it and repeat it until the adhesive is gone. Maybe one of those lint remover rollers might work for this also but I haven't tried it.

stoneill · 16-04-2021 1:43pm

I don't think the kitchen fitting people put that on, you can see in the photo the film is precision cut.
It should just peel off. If the dishwasher has been used several times then it can bake the film on somewhat and make it a bit
more difficult to remove. WD40 or IPA wipes can help with removing adhesion.
Don't go scraping with knives, you will scratch the surface.

Sticky film on stainless steel dishwasher

Comments