Unsticking a basin

captainboo said:
I had to remove my aluminium framed windows from my boat that had been incorrectly stuck with some form of adhesive.

I also tried a blade but it wouldn't get into the non-existant gap.

In the end I used a very thin filler knife made by "Harris" that had a blade about 4" long that was paper thin and very flexible at the end. More importantly the blade tang went through the handle so I could tap it with a hammer and 'gently' force it along. Rounding one corner off with a grinding wheel prevented it from digging into the window frame.

It sucessfully removed my windows with no damage to frame or gelcoat.

Bought from B&Q.
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Thanks for that - will have a look at my local B&Q
 
Tradewinds said:
. . . . then maybe a few hard thumps from beneath . . . . .
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I wouldn't thump from below. :(

A better idea would be to use a bottle jack (scissor jack) and a block(s) of wood(s) and very gently apply upward force whilst cutting or using a solvent.

Use no more force that gently turning or tightening by hand when jacking up.:rolleyes:
 
lenseman said:
I wouldn't thump from below. :(

A better idea would be to use a bottle jack (scissor jack) and a block(s) of wood(s) and very gently apply upward force whilst cutting or using a solvent.

Use no more force that gently turning or tightening by hand when jacking up.:rolleyes:
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Ta. Point taken.

BTW I could read this post without getting a headache :D:D
 
If the sink is only glued around the rim then place a petrol soaked rag over the join and cover with plastic to keep the fumes down.The silicone should start to break up after an hour or so.Make sure the worktop is not affected though.
 
As the basin is faulty and you followed installation guidelines, I would inform the supplier that you are going to have to damage it to remove it. Many returned goods are not re-used anyway. In this case, you can then protect the worktop and use a chisel to prise the sink upwards, more of the silicone will become visible and it can gradually be cut, working your way round until it is released.
 
tap a series of thin wedges around where you can get them in, slowly keep the pressure up and the glue will deform and allow the removal.
 
Bojangles said:
As the basin is faulty and you followed installation guidelines, I would inform the supplier that you are going to have to damage it to remove it. Many returned goods are not re-used anyway. In this case, you can then protect the worktop and use a chisel to prise the sink upwards, more of the silicone will become visible and it can gradually be cut, working your way round until it is released.
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Yep, that's my final option. But the surface is high gloss formica glued to plywood & I can see the surface getting damaged or even tearing away along the sawn edge if undue pressure is applied incorrectly - hence the softly softly approach.

I don't want to have to strip the formica off & glue on another piece.

Pampas:
That method may work if I can protect the surface from the wedges.
 
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Gentle pressure from below and/or hard wood wedges where you can get them in then application of a hot air gun around the edge of the basin - silicone does not like heat and should soften enough to allow teh joint to be split (slowly)
 
cliff said:
Gentle pressure from below and/or hard wood wedges where you can get them in then application of a hot air gun around the edge of the basin - silicone does not like heat and should soften enough to allow teh joint to be split (slowly)
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OK - I have an industrial hot air gun with a fine nozzle & several heat settings.

Any idea of the temperature needed to soften silicone?

Edit: I use silicone sheet in my business & they're good for 230 deg C at least. In fact I've used clear silicone sealant to hold a glass door in place in my oven again at 210 deg C. I think my Formica might char at that temperature - the glue that holds the Formica to the ply would probably give up too.
 
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Tradewinds said:
Yep, that's my final option. But the surface is high gloss formica glued to plywood & I can see the surface getting damaged or even tearing away along the sawn edge if undue pressure is applied incorrectly - hence the softly softly approach.

I don't want to have to strip the formica off & glue on another piece.

Pampas:
That method may work if I can protect the surface from the wedges.
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Try protecting the formica with an old saw blade (obviously not allowing teeth to dig in anywhere) which will be about the flattest and hardest thing you will find lying around and will give good leverage against
 
I think it will best be done very slowly whichever method... Actually removing stuck on windows from a Jeanneau a couple of years ago.. the string or wire cutting was not that successful (now that I remember).
What was best was one of the previous suggestions of a filling knife.. a blade about 3 inches across. But take it very slowly.... saw it bit by bit.. as soon as you try and speed up you're more likely to chip the formica.. It took me 2-3 hours to remove each window but saved £100s on new ones!
 
Update

I found out a couple of days ago that I wasn't required to return the basin undamaged as long as they could examine the fault.

So I decided to angle-grind/cut the sink away on the inside edge at rim level.

Messy & time-consuming but went OK.

The heat of the cutting wheel weakened the silicone somewhat. I could lever up the rim which was left behind & slice the silicone with a Kraft blade as I went along. This worked very well.

Unfortunately, my mind wandered at one point & I managed to rip the Formica by levering too firmly & too soon. So job done but Formica still buggered by my ineptitude :mad:.
 
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This may not help much but I once had to remove a firmly fixed galley bowl in order to get to some otherwise inaccessible plumbing and I recall that I used an old chisel plus brute force to get under the edge and raise the bowl. Anyway it worked and didn't actually damage anything so I was able to reuse the bowl but with only a small bead of sealant in case I ever had to do the job again.
 
reeac said:
This may not help much but I once had to remove a firmly fixed galley bowl in order to get to some otherwise inaccessible plumbing and I recall that I used an old chisel plus brute force to get under the edge and raise the bowl. Anyway it worked and didn't actually damage anything so I was able to reuse the bowl but with only a small bead of sealant in case I ever had to do the job again.
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When I put the new replacement bowl in (after I have replaced the Formica :mad:) I'll definitely use less sealant.

The problem is that there are no fixings on the basin & it's the sealant that does the fixing so you have to use a reasonable amount to fix it properly.

Hopefully this next basin will be good for a few years.


Humblebee: Thanks for the info. I have to clean the silicone up in places so I'll give that stuff a whirl.
 
Tradewinds said:
OK - I have an industrial hot air gun with a fine nozzle & several heat settings.

Any idea of the temperature needed to soften silicone?

Edit: I use silicone sheet in my business & they're good for 230 deg C at least. In fact I've used clear silicone sealant to hold a glass door in place in my oven again at 210 deg C. I think my Formica might char at that temperature - the glue that holds the Formica to the ply would probably give up too.
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I've actually done this to two stainless steel sinks aboard my boat.
they will ease when they get hot, so you need to be concentrating and not darken the stainless or extensive polishing will ensure (i did it).

A better way is getting the silicone/sika remover liquid and put putty all the way around the sink and then pour it into the small gap, this will need topping up but it will eventually work.

bob
 
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