How can I remove label glue from graphite shafts?

I bought some used fairway woods today which had store pricing labels wrapped around the shaft.

The paper labels came off easily, but left behind a sticky glue residue. I tried to remove it with rubbing alcohol, and then with a cleaner called Goo-Gone. Both simply rolled over the glue patch and didn't remove it.

Any ideas on what to use on the glue? I don't want anything so caustic it eats into the finish, or the shaft itself.

Acetone works well. Soft cloth, and you may have to wipe over the label a few times, as the acetone dries very fast, but works good for removing glue, ect, w/o harming the shaft, both graphite and steel.

MIneral spirits or W-D 40. Be careful with acetone. It dissolves plastic and will dull finishes.

+1. Both with respect to mineral spirits/WD 40 and the caution about acetone.

A hair dryer would probably be safer than a heat gun. Depending on how hot the heat gun is it can damage a graphite shaft quickly if you get distracted while heating.

Only if you soak the area. Acetone dries to fast to do any harm. Once I had to get some primer splatter off nice candy blue Mercedes we painted, primer came off, w/o even dulling the paint. So I disagree.

+1 never had any damage to any shaft using it to remove tag glue or anything else from a shaft for that matter. I also use ti to turn and finish ferrules though.

Glue Gunk Removal: Field tests complete!

First, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I ended up getting the other three Hawkeye FWs, so I tested four different glue gunk removal methods on 3, 5, 7 and 9Ws.

One basic idea: Follow arturo's advice and use a piece of cloth - paper towels tend to tear up and produce junk. A rough cloth like a bit of denim would work best, serving as a mild abrasive.

• Hair dryer + Goo Gone: this worked out well. Heating the shaft as mv suggested makes Goo Gone act a lot faster. Basically, the Goo Gone dissolved the warm glue.
• Nail polish remover: My wife combined rusty and RayG advice and produced a bottle of acetone-free NPR. The NPR caused the glue gunk to come off in strips, with a final clean-up wipe needed.
• WD-40: Probably an option for female-free households. David is right, It works... but it's a bit messy. You need a towel below the sticker area so the WD-40 doesn't run down the shaft and onto the floor.
• Hand sanitizer: jman's method works, but it takes awhile. Probably the least messy of the four.

I wonder if these results have any potential for a public-service demonstration on The Talk or The Ellen D. Show?

bigguygonz ,

Thanks for the tip. I'll try to find some. I suspect Chief Firewater might have multiple uses when Goo Gone doesn't quite get it done.

Also, I lived in Oceanside when I was in the Marine Corps. I used to play the Oceanside GC and the Pendleton course a lot.

The Oceanside GC had just been built (circa 1977), and I was amazed by the drainage for a fairly flat lay of land. About 15 minutes after it rained, the puddles had left the fairway.