Replies

1. 
   4Lorn1 | Mar 06, 2003 04:22am | #1

   I don't know if it will work for you as it might depend on the type and age of the silicone but I once used a 4" grinder with a heavy duty, knotted, cup-type, wire wheel. It ate into the silicone and spit it out as fine particles. Wear safety glasses and gloves with cuffs and/or long sleeves as the stuff comes off the wheel with enough force to take the skin off your wrist and forearm.

   After a while it stopped cutting as fast so I took the wheel off and used a grinding disk on the same machine to grind the cup flat. 90 degrees to the strands. This, if I understand correctly, raises burrs and sharp edges on the strands. When I reinstalled the cup wheel it cut even better than before.

1. 
   steveh | Mar 06, 2003 08:43pm | #3

   Thanks for the reply but any mechanical method is sure to take off the "stucco" its a Dry Vit system and the finish is less than an 1/8".

   Mek is I think paint remover and I don't like using that .

   The reason I'm researching this is because I Install a lot of signage

   and the recomended method for 3 dimensional letters to glue them to the wall with silicone. And Dry vit type stucco is used here in Jersey on 80 or 90 percent of building rehabs.

1. 
   UncleDunc | Mar 06, 2003 08:54pm | #4

   >> Mek is I think paint remover and I don't like using that.

   Are you thinking of methylene chloride? That's the stuff in paint remover. MEK is methyl ethyl ketone, which is also toxic, as well as being highly flammable. You can Google for an MSDS. If MEK will soften silicone, it may be one of the more benign chemicals that will do the job.

2. 
   BillHartmann | Mar 06, 2003 09:26pm | #5

   Use a razor or other sharp edge to cut away the bulk. Some of the silicone caulk makers also make a remover.

   Here are a couple http://www.rmoreau.com/su100.htm

   "DAP product called "Silicone-Be-Gone Silicon Sealant Remover". DAP is the consumer products division of Dow Chemical."

   You might also find a commerical product under the Dow name.

   "Any remaining silicone can be removed with 3M-silicone caulk remover."

   I found this by googling on Silcone Caulk Remover.

   also I saw a reference to using toluene to break down the silicone.

1. 
   steveh | Mar 07, 2003 08:27am | #6

   tried the google search first and did find a reference to the DAP product

   e-mailed DAP .They replied that they don't make remover?

   Did find a product called Dicone NC15 for use on Masonary so I'm going to try a test . I'll check on 3M I always had good results with their products

   Thanks

2. 
   junkhound | Mar 06, 2003 04:38am | #2

   After removing as much as possible, wet what's left with MEK which will curl it up after a few minutes, then pressure wash off the result.