How do you remove silicone sealant??

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cliffdale

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Not a brilliant pic but how do you remove the silicone between the bathing platform and the stern!
Some of it has split and rain water leaks into the engine room. I have tried scraping the stuff but I keep damaging the grp around the area.

Any suggestions please?

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Cliff
 
I got some "silicon eater" from B&Q, which made it a bit easier. It's a purple jelly: best not get it on the teak...

It didn't work amazingly well, but was better than nothing. Worst case you will have purple mouldy sealant rather than the current dark green.

dv.
 
If you are talking about the area between the platform and the transom use something with the same reslience as a kitchen spatula to dig out the majority and then remove the residue with a tube of silicon remover adhering to instructions on the tube. It works.
 
Stick 2" masking tape either side of silicone to stop scratcing gell coat if you slip !! ,then using new stanley knife or similar cut a v shape along the length to remove as much as poss , then , use something not to sharp to scrape out as much as you can before using silicone eater as this only removes a thin amount at a time . Done this kind of job a few times , and you will need a radio and a flask and a bit of sun on your back to get the job done /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I've found the silicone remover (purple jelly) very good but it is slow - you have to apply it and leave 24hrs

That may not be ordinary silicone though. It is possibly a higher tech Sikaflex compound that has some silicone but also some rubber based stuff in it. Stiffer than bathrooom silicone. It might even be sika 291 deck caulking which is moslty rubber and a small amount only of silicone. In which case you'll still need much scraping to remove it, not purple jelly. Best tool imho is one of those cirved ended very sharp scrapers, specifically for removing glue. The curve avoids that thing with a normal chisel where the corners catch the gel

Thing is, you don't need to get 100% off. Get most of it off, like 90%, then set the masking tape for the new stuff a tiny bit wider, and the new will cover the old. If you are re-doint it in black silicone normal rules apply, but if you're doing it in 291 good luck to you, as it is a very difficult product to apply and your fingers will be black for about 3 weeks
 
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