This Caulk Will NOT come off

thatswhoiam · Mon May 12, 2014 12:25 am

not sure if there is a rule against posting brands, but there is this one silicone caulk that is damned near indestructible. I put this on a section of my roof back in the winter-- I just slathered the mess everywhere....and now I want it OFF. I have tried acetone, paint thinner, tried scraping and stabbing it with everything including the sharp edges of aluminum flashing, also tried sanding it with an oscillating tool......it feels like super stretchable rubber, and it isn't budging.
I won't ever use it on a roof again, but I will use it everywhere else.

any known solutions to this ??

jpingram5 · Mon May 12, 2014 7:37 pm

Have a heat gun handy? Try hitting it with that and see if you can get it to scrap easily then.

ponch37300 · Mon May 12, 2014 8:11 pm

I use this stuff on kitchen and bath sinks that have silicone caulk on them and it works great, http://www.amazon.com/3M-2153DC-NA-Caul ... lk+remover. It softens the caulk up and you can scrap and wipe it off easy.

Greg · Mon May 12, 2014 8:32 pm

Feel free to name names, some of us would like to know.

Greg

thatswhoiam · Tue May 13, 2014 1:30 am

thanks ! i'll try to find that product. i dont have a heat gun, but thinking maybe a hair dryer would work.

It was actually 2 different caulks....I used clear GE silicone caulk on the majority of it..but then i ran out so I switched to clear dupont airtight siliconized acrylic....at which time i realized I still had some more GE caulk so I ended up mixing the 2 in some areas.... both of those caulks are hell to remove on their own, but where i mixed them, its almost bullet proof. the GE is more flexible and rubbery, and too expensive, the dupont airtight is less flexible but THE hardest caulk i know of. it also has an irritating shine to it.

as far as brands go I like the above plus I've also used the clear dap alex plus acrylic latex silicone caulk for other things, and its great, but it takes almost 2 weeks to turn from cloudy white to clear.

I've used just about every one of them available at lowes and HD. the cheap stuff from the dollar store isn't worth putting on a doghouse.

JD · Mon May 19, 2014 12:25 am

There are caulk removers you can get at the home store, usually in the paint dept with the solvents. For a truly slathered mess, this will be a slow process. Knives and scrappers is very hard work and you take a pretty good risk of injury. I would suggest a grinder with a very serious brush, like braided steel. I use a 9" grinder which is like holding a Volkswagon bug with a handle on top. A 4" grinder may work, not sure never tried it. You can get one at Harbor Freight or like store for $20. Another tool that may work for you is an oscillating tool like Dremmel and Porter Cable make, I have a Rockwell HD unit that I like very much. This thing removes the excess glue off of floor joists, so I am sure it can dig through silicone.

When you have scraped or ground off what you can, now it is a good time to use the liquid caulk remover. After than I would further wash with lacquer thinner. You want to be absolutely sure to remove all traces of silicone. Nothing will stick to silicone, not even silicone. JMHO

HouseMedic · Tue May 20, 2014 10:37 pm

This may sound strange but if you can make it puddle a little and let it sit for a while try using plain old vinegar. I use a vinegar soaked rag to clean silicone off of stuff while it is wet and it dissolves instantly. So maybe letting it sit on it will help loosen it.

Ron

thatswhoiam · Wed May 21, 2014 1:35 am

thanks for the info everyone.....i used an oscillating tool with a scraper which does lift it up pretty good, but im not very skilled at using the thing and kept denting the roof. so....

I didn't feel like going to the store so i soaked a few bounty towels with some household ammonia, laid it against the silicone and covered it with plastic sheeting really snug and weighted down. left it there for several hours, and the silicone came off with just a slight rub. only places that didnt come off were the spots that didn't come in contact with the ammonia.

im just thankful i didn't use this silicone mess more than what I did.

thatswhoiam · Fri Jun 27, 2014 1:53 am

I had quite a few places on the exterior wall that had the silicone caulk stuck on. since the ammonia ran down the wall, i got some goof off caulk remover........that worked pretty well. basically just loosens and softens it so it can be manually lifted up.

don't let it stay on much longer than what directions say....otherwise it seems to harden up again.
***also, be very careful when working at picking/rubbing the old caulk away.....its very easy to get this stuff splashed in the eyeball and it burns like hell***

it says that it also removes the foam sealants.....this is SO not true......at least it doesn't remove it if the foam has been on there for a while (one week). didn't even budge

JD, i have a chicago tools oscillating tool from harbor freight.......and it is by far pretty dang useless....i wouldn't suggest using it on anything thicker than cardboard......only $20 ...but a huge pain in the neck b/c the attachments come off while you're operating it......they just wobble off.....nomatter what.

you can put the attachment on 15 times the exact same way. and it will fall apart 14 times.....then on the 15th try ...it stays on perfectly.

JD · Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:47 am

thatswhoiam, Yea, I wouldn't have first hand knowledge of that tool. Could be there are other inexpensive brands that work better. I bought the first gen Dremmels when they first came out and then got the Rockwell Max tool. The new Craftsman looks and works a lot like the Rockwell. Working a whole roof would be a big job and should warrant buying a tool you could trust to do the job. I use my big 9" dewalt grinder for sealant removal and it eats the stuff up! It works so fast. I have to be careful not to overdo it.