Cleaning !@#$% Silicone Sealant

[cribbj]

Anyone have a slick way of cleaning this cr*p out of a motor?

It's been a few years since I went through another motor sealed up with this stuff, and I thought surely in the 21st century there must be a better way to get this stuff off the gasket surfaces than using the scrapers and razor blades.

Can't use wire wheels 'cause they'll tear up the aluminum - same with blasting

The person who invents a silicone sealer solvent is going to become very rich.

 

[Smitherz]

This was one of the nastiest things I had to remove silicon from.


I have a VERY sharp flat knife that I shave silicone with. I seriously keep a sharpening stone in the middle of the bench to sharpen it every now and then. This removes most of the crap very quick. Then I break out the pneumatic right angle grinder with the 3m brand 2in. disk. If you look in their catalog they sell a disk SPECIFICALLY for aluminum. This thing sure cleans house on whats left.

Here is a pic with the right angle grinder resting on the bottom left.


To get in the expansion grooves I have another knife that I use to go one way up and then back cutting the silicon out. Also in the above picture you can see a skinny chisel type tool. I sharpen this and run it down grooves and skinny areas as well. Remember you can remove the hollow dowels/bolt guides that align things like the water pump as you assemble them to the block. Removing them keeps you from having to go around them of course. Do this late at night when you are losing your mind and track of time. That way you go to sleep right after this waste of time and you won't even remember this painstaking process in the morning. :tired:

 

[Smitherz]

Alright I took a quick shot of what I use to remove the silicone the quickest I know how. I'm pretty quick now that I've had tons of practice on these engines =] I cut the silicone in the expansion slots pretty quick and then go back and brush it with this fine wood handled brush and it removes 90% of it.

 

[cribbj]

<Sigh> OK, I guess there's been no technological advancements in cleaning this stuff, and it still requires copious amounts of low tech elbow grease. It's certainly not the most fulfilling work when reassembling a motor. Luckily most of it is already off as I had that upper oil pan bead blasted the other day, and that got the worst of it. Now it's just the little sump pan, and the block surfaces that need doing.

I offered my unemployed 18 year old $20 per hour to clean this cr*p off the various surfaces, but he wouldn't touch it. Just can't get good help these days.....

 

[KDog]

There is no solvent which you can use to remove the silicon (well there is but it will take away any metal with it)
The best method is a bit of heat and some good scapers/razor blades. Scalpels of various shapes help a lot. Its pretty quick/easy to do once you have the correct heat/tool coordination.

 

[Smitherz]

He wouldn't do it!!!? Kids these days!oke:

 

[Red Supra]

I tell you what, parts washer solution works pretty well "gooing" the silicone to the point where a small wire brush, small screw driver and some elbow grease will take care of it. In the past I was very determined about taking off every little piece of silicone from oil pans and every thread of every bolt. But even if you don't make the surface perfectly clean it will still seal just fine. Sometimes I get so lazy I take the oil pans to a wire wheel on a bench grinder to get the bulk off.

 

[cribbj]

Yeah, I hit all the aluminum surfaces with carburetor cleaner, then the bronze brush took it off.

For the stamped metal oil pan, that required the stainless steel wire brush in the drill ;-) Of course that took the coating off the pan's flange too..... I don't even try to clean the stuff off the fasteners - I just replace them.

 

[Anaema]

it could be blasted off some surfaces. there are different types of blasting material that is used for the different metals and composites used to make car bodies. just for an example; the "sand" used to blast paint from aluminum is much softer than the "sand" used to remove paint and rust from steel.

 

[BARRY]

there is gasket remover spray. works good.

spray on, let sit for 2 minutes wipe off. for thicker layers you will have to do multiple times.

sometimes it can get annoying to respray and wait but its the cleanest way of doing things. i usually get annoyed and start using a razor. or start with a razor to remove the larger chucks then use the spray for the light coat of silicone.

 

[Smitherz]

The master of silicon has spoken... and he's from silicon valley. :smashfreakB:

 

[striker]

Red supra is right, put in the parts washer filled with Solvu-Cleaner, let sit for a day and if falls right of, it doesn's disolve or anything but just looses grip it seems...

before the parts washer was in the garrage it was indeed elbowgrease

Grtz Thomas

 

[Spinall4]

there is gasket remover spray. works good.

spray on, let sit for 2 minutes wipe off. for thicker layers you will have to do multiple times.

sometimes it can get annoying to respray and wait but its the cleanest way of doing things. i usually get annoyed and start using a razor. or start with a razor to remove the larger chucks then use the spray for the light coat of silicone.

I too have used the spray gasket remover to take off silicone with good luck.

 

[cribbj]

What is the manufacturer and trade name of this stuff?

Permatex, etc.?

Thx

 

[SCV8]

Naptha works to help dissolve silicone.

 

[Spinall4]

What is the manufacturer and trade name of this stuff?

Permatex, etc.?

Thx

I belive it was Permetex. Big blue spray paint can sized setup. Has a Thermostat housing on the can as well. Found it at Pepboys, CSK, Autozone, napa, its right by all the other permatex sprays and goop.