silicone removal

[sibyrnes]

A previous owner of my airstream must have loved silicone seal. I would like to remove it and caulk with Vulkem, but the silicone is hard to remove. What is the best way to remove silicone?

[InsideOut]

We too had a "Silicone-Happy" PO...we found that if you spray Permatex Gasket Remover on it, it will soften it. It's a lot like the Aircraft Stripper we used to remove the clearcoat but works better on silicone. Use a sharpened popsicle stick to scrape it all off, you'll probably need several passes to get it all off. Then wipe down the area with mineral spirits to remove the remaining residue. All traces of the silicone must be removed or else the new Vulkem/Parabond will not adhere It's a very laborious and thankless task...I'm sure it didn't take as long to put all the silicone on!

Permatex Gasket Remover can be found at most auto supply stores like Checker, Pep Boys, Kragen, etc.

Good luck!

Shari

[airstream4]

I too have a trailer that the PO covered with silicone to stop leaks, especially around the vista view windows. I ordered some silicone remover OS2 and it does soften the silicone somewhat!
I then used aircraft spray and mineral spirits and lots of elbow grease.
pertex gasket remover sounds like a good item to try as its readily available!
I used a plastic scraper and a razor knife to remove the heavy stuff and went back over with the scraper after loosening it! I used the OS2 for final cleanup also and surface was clean!
Aircraft sprayer was my spray for stubborn spots while removing clear coat! Removall 210 removed 95% or more of clear coat and a light spray of aircraft spray was the final clean-up followed by mineral spirits
I also applied too much vulkem when I sealed trailer after first getting it! Parbond does a much neater job on seams!
Good Luck!

[74Argosy24MH]

I had to reseal a roof yesterday with layers of various caulks, silicone was one. Scraped for awhile, hopeless, got some solvent used to wipe down vehicles before painting and between coats, available at any auto paint store under various trade names. It softened the caulk without a problem, the silicone shriveled up. It should be safe for clearcoat as it won't hurt paint but check in an inconspicuous area just to be sure.

John