How and how to remove silicone sealant from tiles, glass and other surfaces

Silicone sealant is an extremely effective tool for insulation of various types of joints. Despite its high efficiency and ease of use, it is extremely difficult to remove it from surfaces, since when it hits the materials, the substance quickly penetrates into their structure. Let's find out how to remove the silicone sealant.

Mechanical cleaning method

Than to wash off silicone hermetic? If desired, remove the layer of frozen material from the surfaces can be mechanically. However, this solution is recommended only for cleaning sufficiently hard materials that are not afraid of scratches.

How to clean the silicone sealant? Here, the following tools can be useful:

• A metal scraper;
• Abrasives;
• sandpaper;
• putty knife;
• Stationery knife ;
• sharp blade;
• Metal brush.

Choose a remover for silicone sealant, depending on the situation. The optimal solution for scraping a thick layer of frozen matter is a sharp scraper, a stationery knife, a strong spatula.

First, remove the surface layer of the sealant. The rest of the material should be applied with an abrasive powder. Then use a hard brush to clean the surface.

In the end, it is necessary to perform the final grinding of the contaminated area. To do this, use a piece of fine-grained sandpaper. Then it remains only to wash the traces of sealant with a sponge impregnated with household cleaning agent.

Chemical cleaning method

A solvent for silicone sealant is able to cope with the task. Similar products are available in the form of pastes, aerosols, foams. Among the solvents that have proven themselves when removing silicone sealants, it is worth noting:

• Lugato.
• "Penta-840".
• Silikon-Entferner.
• Antisil.
• CRC Gasket Remover.

How to remove silicone sealant, if there is no opportunity to purchase a specialized expensive solvent? In such a situation, acetone will come to the rescue. In addition, of the available household products, the solvent of white spirit has proved its worth. In order to remove the frozen layer of silicone sealant from the surfaces by means of these means, it is sufficient to perform the work in the following sequence:

1. Preliminarily mechanically remove as wide a layer of material as possible without damaging the surfaces.
2. Apply a solvent of white spirit or acetone to the contaminated area. Leave a piece of cloth impregnated with the selected product on the surface for about an hour. After this time, the frozen silicone sealant must acquire a gelatinous texture.
3. Carefully pierce the layer of substance with a sharp blade. Try to remove the silicone in large layers or immediately remove the contamination entirely, if possible.
4. If necessary, repeat the procedure in the same sequence.

Heat treatment

Than to dissolve hermetic? A sufficiently effective solution is the effect of high temperature on the frozen silicon. In this case, it is necessary to warm the contaminated surface to at least 400 ^° C. After softening the silicone sealant, it can be removed with a conventional sponge impregnated with a detergent. However, this method is suitable for cleaning not all surfaces.

How to remove silicone sealant from clothing?

Quite often, in the process of working with silicone, the material gets on clothes, solidifying in the fabric structure. In this situation, even expensive stain removers and powders will be useless.

Than to wash off silicone hermetic from clothes? To save an expensive thing, it will be enough to use alcohol solution and acetic acid. At the preliminary stage of cleaning, you will have to resort to scraping the surface layers of the sealant mechanically. Remains of the substance is enough to impregnate alcohol, and then apply a sponge dampened with vinegar on the fabric. In this condition, clothes should be left for about half an hour.

As a result of the above effects on the fabric, the sealant will soften. Thus, it will be enough to clean the contaminated areas of clothing with rags or a brush. After these measures, silicone residues are easily removed from the fabric during machine or hand washing.

How to remove the sealant from the skin?

If the silicone substance has frozen on the skin, do not panic. It can be washed using a liquid to remove varnish, vinegar, ethyl alcohol, or vegetable oil. A small amount of one of these substances must be applied to a cotton swab and treated contaminated skin. In the end, you need to wash your hands with detergent.

When you need to remove fresh sealant from your hands, it is enough to impose a polyethylene bag on the contamination. A fresh substance will stick to the cellophane and remain on its surface. Then it will be sufficient to thoroughly wash the skin with soap and water under a stream of warm water.

How to remove silicone sealant from the bathroom, sinks, tiles?

The best solution in this situation is the use of specialized solvents - Penta-840, Antisil, Lugato, which have already been mentioned in the material. Here it is worthwhile to focus on the recommendations presented on the package of the facility.

Before dissolving the sealant, it is recommended to carefully remove the layer of frozen material with a sharp blade. Work should be extremely careful not to cause damage to decorative coatings. Softened by chemical means the remains of sealant, in the future can be removed with a wooden stick, rags, wipe with a moistened sponge.

Cleaning of plastic products from sealing

It is most simple to remove the sealant from plastic. After all, between the materials presented, a rather weak coupling is formed due to the weak adhesion of the substances.

The shower cabin can be cleaned of traces of sealant, if you handle the places of contamination with any solvent, whether it's white spirit or acetone. The remaining traces will be sufficiently impregnated with a degreasing agent, for example with alcohol, and then wipe the surfaces with a sponge.

Removal of the sealant from the glass

How to clean the silicone sealant when it solidifies on the glass surface? In this case, the same white spirit will come to the rescue, which must be applied to a piece of tissue and applied for half an hour to the site of contamination.

Then you can proceed to mechanical cleaning. To do this, apply a lightly moistened table salt to the sponge. Remains of softened sealant should be removed, performing circular motions in one direction. In order to avoid the formation of scuffs and scratches on the glass, it is necessary to perform a fairly light pressure on the surface when it is treated with an abrasive.

Precautions for working with silicone sealant

As you know, any trouble is easier to prevent than to deal with the elimination of its consequences. Therefore, in order not to burden yourself with questions than to clean the silicone sealant, when working with the material, it is necessary to resort to simple preventive measures:

1. Protect the skin from ingestion of the substance will allow the use of rubber gloves.
2. Drops of sealant must be cleaned with a damp sponge immediately after they hit the surface. After solidification of the material to cope with the task will be much more difficult.
3. Before processing joints with a sealant, it is recommended to insulate the surfaces with a paint tape. In this way, you can not only get perfectly flat contours, but also avoid substance spills.

Finally

As you can see, the silicone sealant can leave enough stains on the surfaces. To avoid this, you need to work with the substance very carefully. If precautionary measures have not allowed to avoid contamination, the application of the methods presented in this material will allow to eliminate the problem.