View Full Version : removing silicone from aluminium window frames
well i'm still in the process of painting that wheel house and have removed the windows because i've sanded it back to bare timber.It's almost time for the windows to go back in, but i've noticed that the salt has eaten the aluminium in some places, and that i've also scratched the windows during the sanding process, so i'm sending them to be re anodised. However,removing the silicone from the frames is a major drama. What's the best way to get the silicone off the frames? is there a solvent?and what would be a good bedding between the frames and the wheelhouse when i put them back in sika 291,290 i would prefer somthing that would allow me to remove the frames easily should the need arise.
I've posted a pic so you can see the windows i'm dealing with.
Come on, i know it's a crappy question but this silicone is realy difficult to get off.
GIVE ME AN ANSWER.........please smile.gif
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid43/pbe9405b772841f394fb52ef125c4918b/fce279e6.jpg
capt jake
12-30-2002, 07:09 PM
I am unaware of a solvent for silicone. It is a buggar!! scrape scrape scrape!!! Hopefully it has not contaminated the surface for future paint.
Ron Williamson
12-31-2002, 05:22 AM
I believe that it was alcohol(Methyl) that I used for silicone.I poured some onto paper towel,applied it as a poultice and covered that with a plastic bag to slow evaporation.It took a while but it worked really well.
Have fun
R
ken mcclure
12-31-2002, 06:53 AM
Just don't smoke while you're doing it - you'll remove more than the silicone! :eek:
That your boat, mic? Lessee more pics. Please!
Mr. Know It All
12-31-2002, 09:55 AM
Yes,yes more pics of your boat Mic. She's beautiful. smile.gif
Peace---> Kevin in Ohio
Hey thanks for all your answers guys, i'll give the alcohol a go.
Ken i've owned the boat for about 6 months now and have ripped the fibre glass off the deck to expose the beautiful laid boards below.
I'm in the process of painting her a different color.
Mr know it all, these are pictures the old owner took when he last painted her,the boats name is the "Southern Mist' it's gotta be the strongest built boat of it's type i've ever seen.
Thanks for your interest.
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid43/pe1c33b2084a49ae40aab48c88e24ecf7/fce27b81.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid43/p4b9e52d99c8c0acdc3e2af1ad1882424/fce27ac2.jpg http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid43/pa14440255ed7555b16dd7c3d5a581bb9/fce27900.jpg
thechemist
12-31-2002, 12:53 PM
Mineral spirits swells silicone and facilitates its release. Soak some into a fine or ultrafine abrasive pad and rub the surface with that. It will come off readily.
ken mcclure
12-31-2002, 01:19 PM
God! What a beautiful boat!
I can't go and buy a boat like that. I'd not get anything else done - I'd be at the boat all the time!
Can't quite make out the markings on the side there ... looks like fraternity/sorority letters.
Reminds me of the co-ed fraternity/sorority - I Felta Thi.
John of Phoenix
12-31-2002, 02:11 PM
Originally posted by thechemist:
Mineral spirits swells silicone and facilitates its release. Soak some into a fine or ultrafine abrasive pad and rub the surface with that. It will come off readily.I've waited most of my life for this piece of information and it's finally come. This marks the dawning of a new and brighter age. An era where we may use sealant WITHOUT fear of never being able to remove it. Apply it without fear of smudges. My hands no longer quiver at the thought of squeeze out. This is JOYOUS news, indeed.
This and drill bit sharpening all in one day!
Thank you!! Thank you!! Thank you!!
capt jake
12-31-2002, 02:14 PM
I have to aggree with you John. I learned a new trick here today also.
Thanks Mr Chemist!! smile.gif smile.gif
Is Mineral Spirits in the US the same product as Mineral Turps in Australia?
And a Happy New Year to all smile.gif
HAPPY NEW YEAR smile.gif
Now that i'm awake! after a night of drinking. One more thing i'd like to kwow befor i put my window frames back in, is what people recomend as either a bedding/ sealing compound behind them. Preferably somthing that would allow me to remove the frames easily should the need arise again,but somthing tht will seal well.
Oh and Ken, i am at the boat all the time(much to my wifes dismay :rolleyes: ). The markings on the hull are X8X her original survey fishing registration i.d.
mmmmm...how'd I miss this thread?...that's a gorgeous boat!
Wait...is this the prawn boat from the past? The one with the nifty hold?
Loon, this is an aft wheelhouse crayboat built to fish the waters of Bass Strait between Southern Australia and Tasmainia and also the high seas between Tasmainia and Antarctica. She was built in 1961 by old man Cayzer himself, i was told it was one of the last ones built by him. Cayzer is a famous Aussie boatbuilder.
Amazingly built, she has 2" Jarrah hull with ribs 3" wide, 2 1/4" deep, at 8" centres, so every 5" she is 4 1/4" thick. After i finish repainting her i will be looking to rigg her as a Gaff Cutter so i will jump on the forum to get good advice on mast placement and height and the best way to do this. Right now her mast is about 32feet high and the boom is not long enough, the sail she carries now is a Bermudian style steading sail which is just enough to get you home.
But i beleive with a decent rigg she will sail a lot better, i will certainly be looking for some good help to do the best by the boat.
Somewhere in a wrinkle at the back of my brain, there's an Aussie asking questions about how to fill the holes in a funny fish-hold....I mistook it for this boat?
Loon, Yes this is that boat. The name of the thread that you are remembering is PLUGGING UP A WET WELL. smile.gif
Thank God! Now if I could just remember what happened yesterday. Didja turn that wet well into a wet bar, or what?
Nah ,not yet i'm trying to finish all the work on the top sides befor i go below.
Hmmmm. Wet bar sounds good.
thechemist
01-01-2003, 02:07 PM
Originally posted by JimJ:
Is Mineral Spirits in the US the same product as Mineral Turps in Australia?
And a Happy New Year to all smile.gif Maybe.
Try it and see if it works.
If you know of an Aussie-to-Queen's-English chemical dictionary, I could better answer your question.
. One more thing i'd like to kwow befor i put my window frames back in, is what people recomend as either a bedding/ sealing compound behind them. Preferably somthing that would allow me to remove the frames easily should the need arise again,but somthing tht will seal well.
Hi guys still realy hoping to get an answer on this one, i want to get them in tomorrow.
thechemist
01-02-2003, 06:59 PM
Originally posted by mic:
. One more thing i'd like to kwow befor i put my window frames back in, is what people recomend as either a bedding/ sealing compound behind them. Preferably somthing that would allow me to remove the frames easily should the need arise again,but somthing tht will seal well.
Hi guys still realy hoping to get an answer on this one, i want to get them in tomorrow.4200, made by 3M [Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, of St. Paul, MN, USA].
Not 5200.
4200.
the chemist
thanks i'll give it a go smile.gif
Memphis Mike
01-02-2003, 08:31 PM
What's the big deal? Take a utility
knife or razor scraper and peel the
junk off.
Silicone is a sealant and does not adhere
well to metal or glass.
It can be peeled off.
It's removal is easy. :rolleyes:
Now, someone tell me how to get it
off a porous wood. That's a different
story.
[ 01-02-2003, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: Memphis Mike ]
thechemist
01-03-2003, 01:31 PM
Originally posted by Memphis Mike:
What's the big deal? Take a utility
knife or razor scraper and peel the
junk off.
Silicone is a sealant and does not adhere
well to metal or glass.
It can be peeled off.
It's removal is easy. :rolleyes:
Now, someone tell me how to get it
off a porous wood. That's a different
story.There is a problem with scraping it off of hard surfaces, and that is that there is a microscopic residue that does NOT come off, and it interferes with subsequent paints or adhesives. Silicone residues will stick tenaciously everywhere you don't want them to stick. Ask anyone in the bathtub-refinishing business who has to remove traces from porcelain or F*****lass tubs before painting.
Many metals will not develop good adhesion, for most forms of silicone sealants generate acetic acid on curing, and that attacks the metal. Coated/protected metals, such as anodized aluminum, it can develop excellent adhesion. Similarly, glass precleaned with an alkaline solution exhibits excellent adhesion by silicone sealants.
As for getting it off of porous wood, I think the same approach will work. Get the wood really dry, and soak it with odorless mineral spirits. Put a paper towel on top, folded in a few layers, to act as a wick to hold the mineral spirits against the surface, and cover with a sheet of aluminum foil to retard evaporation. Stick it on a vertical surface with push-pins. Give it half-an-hour, then attack the wood with a small wire brush and any thin film of silicone remaining should shred and release and come up.
Give it a try and lemme know how it works.
Phil Young
11-13-2003, 09:17 PM
Mic, you there mate? How's the boat going?
Phil
werner
11-14-2003, 11:23 AM
Hi,
to my knowledge silicone bonds very well to glass,
In a car paint shop you will be able to get silicone remover (to remove the silicone film of before respraying and sanding if not you get
"fish eyes")and better throw away the rag you use.
kind regards ,
Werner
My goodness, i didn't think anybody still took an interest in this thread. But here's a few pic's of the new paint job on the wheelhouse,
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/p97b7f49c51e609c4ee064ab58b4009a3/fc6657de.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/p2ea3f121e8f5a3d604be3dd31607576f/fc6654a8.jpg
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid58/p1409c78d8d56a1cb1b3a66f5872b953f/fc665848.jpg
Hell now it's time for the deck and bulwark, it never ends. :D ;)
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