Goofoff and GooGone are two different products. GooGone is primarily a citrus based product (and yes, it does smell, but like concentrated lemon/lime). The GooGone I have works on many adhesive labels (price tags, etc.) and some other generally hard to get off stuff and may not be as strong as you need, but it wouldn't hurt to try. It's hard to say what solvent will disolve and soften that adhesive...some are quite resistant to most common chemicals. Sounds like Goofoff is a lot stronger - I'll look for some if I get a situation where the stuff I have doesn't work. No doubt it works for what it is designed, but not all adhesives are created equal!
As to contractors and smell containment...for those that don't read and heed the warnings, I think that after a few times, they've burned out enough brain cells that they don't care and don't notice!? In the states OSHA has some clout, but they need a complaint or a random on-site inspection to catch this type of problems...not that many inspectors out there.
Anything sharp you use, you'd need to be very careful that you didn't scratch the surface. Another thing you will likely find out is that once you do get it off, the color may not match anymore.
While some people swear by them, there are more horror stories about tub/shower liners than glowing reports. They don't tend to last all that long. The biggest issue is the seal at the drain...if not done perfectly, you can get water between the original tub and the liner that squishes when you walk on it. That stagnet water can get pretty ripe.
I actually ended up with the googone first. I'll see what happens. I took a small sniff of the goofoff and my head went swimming (still is a little bit three hours later) so I put it back hence trying the googone first.
I bought normal paint/insecticide/organic vapor resiprator cartridges for my mask just in case the smell becomes a problem with the citrus stuff. I've used citrus based paint remover "citrus strip" before and with worked well on my stair railing which the previous owner varnished several times over. If this googone is even half as good it'll work. I'll know shortly. I got a 3" wide scraper for glass which I hope will work OK. I'm not worried about color as long as it's not too different and it lets me put new non-skid strips down so they won't lift.
The main reason I'm looking to remove them is that the top pieces have cracked and float into the drain clogging it in several cases along with their interfering with the non-slip from sticking.
Otherwise I would leave them alone. If the googone doesn't work I'll have to try the goofoff.
If I thought that citrus strip wouldn't harm the enamel of the tub I'd use that.
But it says it removes all paints including enamels. I would be concerned it would hard the tub.
I have no plans to use any kind of liner that would go over the tub. I've seen the horror stories of that. If anything I'd look for someone that does actual refinishing. As long as they have a way to contain the vapors that would be idea.
I somehow doubt my neighbor's workers were 'contractors'. I suspect instead they were 'handymen' perhaps even volunteers. The owner is a 'pastor' and is a retired GC, I think. He has some non-qualified persons he uses routinely to make-ready his units when he re-rents them. If they knew what they were doing with that paint stuff I'd be extremely surprised.
This same person while President of our HOA hired know-nothing volunteers to remove a fallen tree after Hurricane Ike vs a real tree service who bid the same $2500. The persons were ill-equiped and knew nothing about how to remove the tree over a roof including letting limbs hit said roof and gutters none of which damage they reimbursed our HOA for. My neighbor had to use her pickup truck as a counterweight at one point to prevent the huge limb they cut from crashing through the roof.