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Sticker on the receiver (leave it on or off?)

treadlok97
I have a winchester model 42 hi grade (made 1993). It has a sticker on the receiver from the factory. Do I leave it on or take it off? Will it hurt the receiver to leave it on? Will it hurt the value to take it off???
I have two Browning 42 grade 5's made around the same time and both of the have had the sticker removed.
What to do????
Thanks
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • tsr1965
    Since they are not original Winchester 42's, the collector value will not suffer if you remove the sticker...that does not mean they are not nice shotguns though.

    Best
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  • treadlok97
    Any other opinions on this?
    Thanks
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  • nmyers
    Manufacturers don't do any long term studies on the adhesives used on stickers they buy. Many adhesives break down over time, & there's a chance that the byproducts will stain the receiver. If it were me, I wouldn't take the chance.

    Neal
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by treadlok97
    I have a winchester model 42 hi grade (made 1993). It has a sticker on the receiver from the factory. Do I leave it on or take it off?

    Are you going to actually shoot the gun?

    If so, I'd take it off.

    Personally speaking, the only reason I would NOT take the sticker off is if I were going to leave the gun unfired, new in box, as a collectors piece only. In that case, you leave the label in place.

    If the receiver gets discolored under the label. . .you'd never know it. Caveat emptor for the eventual buyer.

    quote:
    Will it hurt the receiver to leave it on?

    In terms of mechanical/structural damage? No way.

    In terms of discoloring the finish, I actually think that's fairly unlikely, though obviously I can't say with 100% certainty that it won't. In general a sticker is going to be made of paper or vinyl and the glue is probably a rubber cement type adhesive. The plasticizers inside these things tend to act as preservatives.

    My experience with removing labels on things that have been there for years/decades, is that the area under the sticker is usually BETTER preserved than the rest!

    As an example, I put some vinyl pinstripe material on an anodized aluminum cell phone case. LONG after the vinyl material wore away, the color under the stickers was preserved while the rest of the color faded.

    Now in theory, it might hurt things IF the gun gets wet, and the label got soaked in water, holding moisture against the receiver for a prolonged period of time.

    quote:Will it hurt the value to take it off???
    Given that your gun isn't some super-rare collectible, in truth, I doubt it would make a significant difference.

    If it is one of those vinyl stickers and you are SUPER CAREFUL, you might even be able to remove the sticker in one piece, such that you could replace it later if you had to.
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  • treadlok97
    As long as I have the gun, it will not be shot. It will stay in the box in the safe only to be taken out a couple times a year to be wiped down. But the sticker does bother me a little. Don't want to hurt the gun or the value
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  • fatfrog
    Instead of using the expensive citrus oil sticker removers I prefer soaking it with a little lighter fluid. Works faster and cleaner.
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  • treadlok97
    Well I had rather leave it if I know it want hurt the gun
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  • xxx97
    quote:Originally posted by treadlok97
    Well I had rather leave it if I know it want hurt the gun
    have a model60 from the 60's i believe...un-fired still has 2 factory stickers on it...
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