New ideas on old silicone?

[captainwireman]

Has there been any new products or techniques to thoroughly clean and remove all traces of silicone residue from fiberglass?

[JPA Cate]

If there has, minaret or mainesail will be able to tell you its name. Possibly send one of them a PM.

Ann

[Stumble]

The only thing I know of is sandpaper. But good luck.

[jongleur]

My boat's PO used it all over the place. Aargh!

[Dave852]

Yeah, mine too. Hate the stuff. This is the only worthwhile product and I have tried many. http://www.dsr5.com/siliconeremoval.htm

[Reefmagnet]

To remove by mechanical means, a multitool with a scraper blade works amazingly well (think hot knife through butter). I've just purchased a speciality silicon scraper blade, having just noticed they exist, but haven't had the chance to use it as yet.

[Roy M]

You will need, at the very least, the industrial strength gallon can of elbow grease. One is good for a lifetime.

[robert sailor]

Yes there is some stuff to remove the residue. I don't recall the name but someone here will have it.

[svtrio]

This is a good FAQs resource from General Electric about Silicone. GE silicone II is non-acetic, which is important in some applications. Info about removing silicone is in the list.

Somewhere in the past I tracked down in GE details about removing silicone, and my memory tells me that it was much more extensive than is described here. Nevertheless, the FAQ does give some specific info. And there is a lot more interesting information in the list. A good and easy read.

http://www.caulkyourhome.com/frequen...ons.php#trbl_3

Roger

[s/v 'Faith']

No, there really is not.

There are silicone "release agents" that can break the bond, but even these expensive agents do not actually work as solvents for the oil in silicone.

There are also automotive paint and body "silicone removers" that "wash" the silicone prior to painting. They work in some applications (like metal auto parts) but are not effective on fiberglass or wood.

Mechanical means can remove the solid silicone, but aggressive sanding can actually make the problem worse as the silicone oil gets to penetrate the "tooth" produced in the material being sanded.

Silicone is a terrible sealant, and should never be used outside of metal to metal or metal to glass or lean applications.

The oil is what you really need to remove, and it is the very hardest to rid fiberglass, gel coat, or wood of.

Friends don't let friends use silicone! I experienced multiple paint failures, and ultimately had to take very aggressive (wood chisel) solutions to get a good bond.

[Maine Sail]

I have thousands of dollars invested in trying to come up with one, two different labs working on gelcoat safe variations, but as of yet no success I am willing to put my name on.

I have tested every one that "claims" to do it but none pass the fish-eye paint test or they are simply not gelcoat safe..... I am still trying but beating cured silicone, with a chemical that is also safe for gelcoat, is like surviving a nuclear holocaust it seems...

[natew]

I had relatively good luck or ridding all of my boats hatches and other hardware of silicone using kitchen type stainless steel scrubbies. They are hell on your hands but they do a pretty darn good job, they also did not scratch anything that I used them on including the aluminium hatch frames and stainless steel stanchion bases. Also seemed to work ok on one or two places that I had silicone on bare epoxy/fiberglass.

[Jim Cate]

I just can't help it... every time I see the title for this thread, I get a mental picture of an aging topless dancer with hopes of renewing the old "bounce".

I know that this is merciless thread drift, and wish I could offer some useful advice, but I think that Mainesail has it pegged: Ain't no such thing.

Pity, that!

Jim

[Tx J]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I just can't help it... every time I see the title for this thread, I get a mental picture of an aging topless dancer with hopes of renewing the old "bounce".

I know that this is merciless thread drift, and wish I could offer some useful advice, but I think that Mainesail has it pegged: Ain't no such thing.

Pity, that!

Jim

You asked for it: Bounce Your Boobies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Look for an audible download and give a listen, it's a hoot(er).
You have to be a certain age to remember it though...

[captainwireman]

Your killing me here!!! At least the abs are getting a great workout.
Here is a product recommendation. The salesmen swear it is the best, no better product on the market currently, and since I am cleaning off silicone from a painted fiberglass surface, I have been assured it will adhere tenaciously. Imagine that coming from a salesman but I figure at the low price and what seems to be a very clean and easy application, a test window or two will not break the bank and maybe everything I was told could be mostly true.
Anyone tried it yet?
EternaBond DoubleStick Seam Tape, 60 mil., 1 in. x 50 ft. Roll

There is probably a 1 1/2 inch overlap of old whatever style plastic window to hull before the outer rim was beaded with silicone. The temporary emergency measure silicone I applied is all on the old window, small bead applied around the edge to fiberglass joint, or around the mounting screw cracks. All on the outside of the windows. There is an area around these windows where no silicone has been applied (screwed area) and this is where I was thinking of using this stuff. Nothing big or too difficult to get cleaned up, I hope anyways. I was planing on repainting the topside so I need to clean in any event.