How to remove old silicone caulking

[murry135]

I am looking for suggestions on the best way to remove old silicone caulking from around storage doors and trim on the outside of our 2013 Landmark. The caulking is showing signs of mold and signs of wear so I want to removed the old and apply new. Since I have a full paint unit I must use clear silicone and be mindful not to scratch paint. What say you fellow club members on this subject?

 

[SilverRhino]

I use plastic scrapers that are used for body work. Another option is to use one of those cards that you receive every week in the mail trying to get you to enroll or subscribe to something.

 

[cookie]

I'm not sure what type of clear caulk the factory used, but if it is silicon it will not be easy to remove.
I recently worked on my daughter's trailer that a previous owner had used silicon on. What a job to remove that stuff.
So if it is indeed silicon be sure to clean the surface with ammonia water after the caulk is removed.
Ammonia will get rid of that slick residue that silicon will leave.
There are other options for clear caulk.

Peace
Dave

 

[murry135]

I'm not sure what type of clear caulk the factory used, but if it is silicon it will not be easy to remove.
I recently worked on my daughter's trailer that a previous owner had used silicon on. What a job to remove that stuff.
So if it is indeed silicon be sure to clean the surface with ammonia water after the caulk is removed.
Ammonia will get rid of that slick residue that silicon will leave.
There are other options for clear caulk.

Peace
Dave

I am just assuming it is clear silicone since that is what I used in some touch up areas in the past. Guess I need to research a better product on the replacement side of the clean up.

 

[porthole]

The problem with using silicone sealers is the silicone itself gets in to the pores of the substrate and is almost impossible to remove and makes future caulking difficult.

Jim, I use epoxy mixing sticks, either plastic or wood to scrap off sealers. The wood sticks look like tongue depressors except they usually have a blunt end instead of a curved end.

 

[avvidclif]

Why not call the factory and ask them what they use?????

 

[mlpeloquin]

You will have to make sure that it will not remove the type of paint that is on your rig.

http://re-mov.com/products-Adhesive-and-Silicone-Remover.html

 

[GregP]

There is a product manufactured by DAP, "SILICONE-BE-GONE". It is sold by Canadian Tire in Canada, but may be available in the US. I used it to remove clear silicone sealant on my boat a while back before resealing the opening in the stern with silicon. Worked well for me then, but still required a fair bit of elbow grease to make sure the final surface was clean.

 

[porthole]

Resealing some doors and panels this week I have found a mixture of silicone, caulk and some mystery material, all 3 on the baggage doors.

 

[benrobert]

Apply the caulk remover and let it sit in the caulk for a few hours to remove previous sealant. Leave the caulk remover on during the entire night for better results. The caulk or sealant removal product for RVs is designed specifically to remove them from the interior and external surfaces of a caravan. Therefore, soaking it in the caulk overnight will make it easier to remove the sealant from your RV's external windows or roof.

 

[centerline]

any method used to remove well adhered silicone sealant from a surface is going to have trade offs.....

after a lifetime of boat and RV use and maintenance, I can tell you that the easiest way to remove silicone and any of its residue is by using a small, fine wire stainless steel brush on it.....
it doesnt take much effort to break it up when you brush it, and you will never gouge the paint like a metal scraper will, but I must say that if you would use a razor scraper to cut the bigger, thicker areas down a bit, it would help the brushing to go fairly fast, because the brush takes a while to work its way thru blobs, but on the "normal" sized caulk strips, its the best....
I like to use a lubricant (WD-40) as it seems to help the particles break away and fall to the ground as its scrubbed..... the wire brush should be the stainless steel type that aluminum welders use to clean their weld area, which have fine wire bristles... Ive used it on wood, gelcoat and urethane paint without any issues or damage, but the cheaper automotive paints may be a bit softer.... but on my trailer/vehicle or equipment, I would not hesitate to use it simply because it works so well and will look like as if it has never been caulked before, and any marks it may make will be at the caulk line anyway, so it will never be noticed after the new caulk is applied.

but if you arent seeing the results you expect, dont push harder on the brush thinking it will remove it faster.... it wont. but if you brush a little faster, then you will start seeing the action.....