Dissolving Silicone Sealer?
@#$%^&! lights. Glass Fresnel dome lens. Countersunk into aluminum housing. No way to do a tight 90 degrees (1/32") with a knife. I need to DISSOLVE the blue silicone sealant someone so unwisely se...
Forum Discussion
The reason that Fresnel lens is hard to remove or has a mechanical clamping ring is that a Fresnel is **** expensive! Securing it in a ring that requires a 1/8 turn is a good design. The bad thing is that someone thought it needed additional sealant in order to keep doing it's job.
Up here, at my local True Value hardware, they sell a couple of different caulk removers. I've used 3M caulk remover and it breaks down silicone in a few hours. How I use it is to apply more than is specified (a double dose), cover it with Saran wrap, and let the chemical work overnight. The next morning a typical 1/4" bead of silicone is dissolved on the surface it was bound to and what remains of the bead can be pulled off with a rag or scraper.
I don't have any 3M Caulk remover on hand but a bottle of Motsenbocker's LiftOff which is similar stuff discloses in their MSDS that it contains 20% acetone and 20% glycol ether.
Up here, at my local True Value hardware, they sell a couple of different caulk removers. I've used 3M caulk remover and it breaks down silicone in a few hours. How I use it is to apply more than is specified (a double dose), cover it with Saran wrap, and let the chemical work overnight. The next morning a typical 1/4" bead of silicone is dissolved on the surface it was bound to and what remains of the bead can be pulled off with a rag or scraper.
I don't have any 3M Caulk remover on hand but a bottle of Motsenbocker's LiftOff which is similar stuff discloses in their MSDS that it contains 20% acetone and 20% glycol ether.
