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 Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums
 General Sailing Forum
 Success with removing silicone		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts
Initially Posted - 08/14/2016 :  10:02:22  Show Profile
This topic rears its ugly head now and again . . . I've had way more than my share of fun with it.

A brief summary of my experiences and others via forum posts have concluded that the only effective way of removing silicone is through mechanical means. As I was contemplating removing yet more silicone from a Lewmar port light frame, I glanced up at the pegboard above my workbench and spotted a wire wheel brush. I inserted it into my drill and gently touched the brush against the silicone. I soon noticed a pile of silicone crumbs start to accumulate. I continued until I was down to the anodized aluminum frame. I didn't care if I scratched back of the frame so I applied more pressure and in just a few minutes I was down to bare metal - no more silicone.

Results - not only is removing silicone with a wire wheel brush much faster, it is also very thorough:



I tried the same technique on the gelcoat that was behind the frame - this time much more gently so as not to scratch the gel coat.

Results - while I did manage to put a couple-three tiny scratches in the gel coat, the results were again, very fast and thorough. When removing silicone from gel coat in the future, I will search for a softer wire wheel brush.

1989 C25 TR/WK, #5822
1973 McVay Minuet 19
1975 Jester 12
1981 C25 SR/SK, #2428
1981 C22 SR/SK,
Tanzer 16
Sunfish

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats." Kenneth Grahame
Edited by - OJ on 08/14/2016 10:04:11
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.