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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Residue
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Message started by Digger on 07/10/09 at 20:27:50

Title: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Residue
Post by Digger on 07/10/09 at 20:27:50

What do ya'll use for stripping old silicone gasket residue from engine parts (e.g. the cylinder head cover mating surfaces)?

I tried to source some Permatex Silicone Stripper locally, but nobody carries it and most people I talked to think it's been dropped from Permatex's product line.

Ideas?

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by Boule’tard on 07/10/09 at 20:44:05

You can still get the Permatex stuff off Amazon here (http://www.amazon.com/Permatex%C2%AE-Silicone-Stripper-Gasket-Remover/dp/B000GKEZ2S) but if you don't want to order anything, there's also mineral spirits or caulk remover from Home Depot, and oven cleaner is also rumoured to work.

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by ero4444 on 07/11/09 at 06:46:16

Oven-cleaner etches aluminum like our blocks so I would avoid it unless nothing else worked.

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by Boule’tard on 07/11/09 at 09:27:51

Agreed. Etching may or may not help with the bonding of the new gasket, and if it made the bond worse, it would take a lot of work to buff the etch off. So the oven cleaner is best left as a last resort.

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by Digger on 07/11/09 at 19:58:32

Some good ideas and information.

I tried some different things today I already had in the garage.

Coleman fuel (white gas) works OK, as does brake cleaner spray. You need a little elbow grease the get all of the silicone residue off, but I'd rather work a little than have another product in my garage that goes bad before I can use all of it.

Thanks for the answers!

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by Digger on 07/13/09 at 18:53:11

Final update:

I found some Permatex® Silicone Stripper Gasket Remover (http://www.amazon.com/Permatex%C2%AE-Silicone-Stripper-Gasket-Remover/dp/B000GKEZ2S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1247536020&sr=8-1) locally. (Here's the TDS (http://www.getmsds.co.il/80647t.pdf).)

It is easy to use and did not seem that caustic. I used it and followed up with some brake cleaner spray and it looks as if all traces of the silicone gasket sealant (Permatex Ultra Copper) I used last time are gone. It cost less than $6.00, so I can recommend it (if you can find it).

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by vhfkid on 07/14/09 at 13:33:48

7D505E5E5C4B390 wrote:

I have the same greasy elbow, but I used isoproply alcohol (rubbing alcohol 99.9% pure) it's probably not as good as the silicone remover, but a little work and my head cover was clean. You can get the 92 or 95% stuff at most drugstores.

Title: Re: Chemically Stripping Old Silicone Gasket Resid
Post by serenity3743 on 07/15/09 at 11:02:45

I'm pretty sure there's some "silicone strippers" at our local gentlemen's club. ;)