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Sealant Removal Question

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joegeiger
1st Mate

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USA
63 Posts

Initially Posted - 01/27/2004 : 11:46:29

I have an 86' fin keel with the pop-top. I removed the rubber gasket for that and the forward hatch... The previous owner "patched" the gaskets where they leaked by using 2 different types of sealer in addition to the original one used. I can't seem to get the silicon based sealent completely off. I want to get it as clean as possible so the new sealant will adhere and it won't leak. Is there a chemical or other solution to remove that stuff completely? Also any suggestions on the best type of sealant to use to re-seal the gasket? Thanks.

Edited by - on

Raskal
Navigator

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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 01/27/2004 : 13:03:22

Joe, When I did the same job I went back and forth between standard "Goo Gone" (available at Staples or any hardware store) and the stuff they sell in the black squeeze bottles at Boater's World for removing registration letters from dinghies. The stuff in the black squeeze bottle worked best. The factory glue was some awful rubber cement that required scraping with a hard plastic edge to pull most of it off. There were thin spots in the fiberglass that broke through and these I patched by rolling up little balls of epoxy putty and stuffing them neatly in place.

Rich Kokoska

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 15:55:05

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by joegeiger
 I can't seem to get the silicon based sealent completely off. 
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hence, for any newbies, this is why we discourage using silicone on boat applications . . .

Edited by - OJ on 01/28/2004 17:35:34

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 16:55:23

I've used Goof Off to get rid of just about everything. Last year, I was going to replace my nasty rub rail because it wouldn't come clean, but while doing some window work last spring I rubbed a little on the rub rail and voila', it cleaned it right up and I scratched "replace rub rail" off the to do list.

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Raskal
Navigator

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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 18:20:35

OJ, I'm going to beg to differ on that comment about the silicone. Remember that stuff like 3M 5200 isn't silicone, it's adhesive caulk; plain old Marine silicone is the most pliable, sturdy, removable, handy all-purpose material you can use on a boat. It can act as a watertight seal for decades behind a through-hull; when it's time to remove it it comes off readily and cleanly with the substances I mentioned above. Marine silicone is flexible yet tough enough to serve as a gasket under mast steps or stanchions. Silicone gets the same bad rap that alcohol stoves get and it just ain't right...

Rich Kokoska

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 19:31:35

Rich,
Maybe it's a matter of definitions. I agree that products like 5200 and Life Caulk are not all-silicone products. OJ's PO went completely nuts with something like GE's door and window silicone seal on the main salon windows - and they still leaked. I spent an insane amount of time removing 100% of the silicone from the aluminum window frames - even when using the above referenced solvents.
Just trying to keep our fellow sailors from suffering the same fate . . .

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 01/28/2004 : 21:54:59

From an article titled, "[url="http://www.sailnet.com/collections/articles/index.cfm?articleid=caseyd0051"]Choosing and Using Sealants[/url]" written by This Old Boat author Don Casey...

Silicone If you think of silicone as a gasket material instead of a sealant you can proably intuit its appropriate uses. It is the best choice for bedding components that must be periodically dismantled. Its excellent insulating properties make it ideal for bedding dissimilar metals—stainless hardware on an aluminum spar, for example. And it is—by default—the only one of the marine sealant trio than can be safely used to bed plastic. However, silicone should not be used below the waterline. And because it depends upon mechanical compression to maintain its seal, silicone is also a poor choice for sealing hardware on a cored deck.

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Raskal
Navigator

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USA
162 Posts

Response Posted - 01/29/2004 : 16:15:07

Thanks, Don! Your scholarship just set this house in order...or whatever Confucius would have said!

Rich Kokoska

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Randall
Navigator

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123 Posts

Response Posted - 01/29/2004 : 19:48:45

Alright, dangit, now I'm all confused!! This weekend I'm going to reset my stern rail. What do I want to use-- Silicone? I've read previous advise about letting it set up first to form a gasket, then tightening the bolts down, and plan on doing that.

Problem: My sternrail was modified by a PO to make a walk-through for the swim ladder. An 18" section of the starboard-side top rail was cut out and hinged to lift out of the way. The hinged side is on the sternrail, so it is very strong. The bad part is that when it is swung up for swim use, the remaining starboard portion of the rail is supported only by one stanchion, and everyone grabs it to pull themselves aboard. As a result, the stanchion base is bent, the fiberglass is cracked and crazed, etc. I have built two support legs to make it more like a tripod, but it will still have a lot of stress and strain put on it.

What is the best way to give it a strong,flexible seal? The additional bases I'm adding don't mate up perfectly with the hull, so I was considering some sort of thick gasket material sandwiched between thick layers of silicone. Good idea or not?

Randall
79 TR/SK "Kite" #1459

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 01/29/2004 : 21:28:29

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">What is the best way to give it a strong,flexible seal? The additional bases I'm adding don't mate up perfectly with the hull, so I was considering some sort of thick gasket material sandwiched between thick layers of silicone. Good idea or not?

Randall
79 TR/SK "Kite" #1459
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I know nothing!
Could you install some sort of socket in your transom to allow a length of SS tubing to set down in the transom? That would give you a stanchion that could take the pressure yours has been under. Just a thought.

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Randall
Navigator

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123 Posts

Response Posted - 01/29/2004 : 22:01:25

That's what I did, actually, I just didn't explain it well. And I still can't figure how to. I need to post a picture, so you don't have endure a thousand fumbling words.

I bought 6' of 1" SS tubing, a 1" SS socket that mounts on the coaming, and a 1" T-shaped SS fitting that slides over the top rail. From these I made the main support leg. Left over from the PO's previous modifications was a brace made of 1/2" SS rod that I adapted to make the third leg of the "tripod". Unfortunately, the three bases are only about 8-12 inches apart, so they can't impart as much strength as I would like.

The SS socket comes within a couple of degrees of matching the angle of the coaming, so I don't think a wedge is needed, just a thick, flexible gasket. Does this explanation make any more sense?

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skipn809
Navigator

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111 Posts

Response Posted - 01/30/2004 : 10:39:27

For what it is worth, I have rebedded most stuff on 4 boats, and have a fondness for 3M 101 for most everything except plastic or lexan. It even works below the waterline. It is waterproof, stays flexible, is an adheasive but can be taken apart again, and is as bad a snot for sticking to everthing you touch. I understand water is what makes it set up, so if you get it on something, or need to trim it, let it set up for a couple of days, and after it hardens, trim it up with a knife. Should lift right off.

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