How can I remove silicone sealant?

Question

We put a new stainless steel sink into the hole in the kitchen worktop. We put clear silicone around the edge- as the instructions said. Some squeezed out and I would like to know the best way to remove it. (if it can be romoved) Many thanks

Answer 1

As already mentioned.
Best to clean up before it drys with clean cloth or lots of kitchen towel. spend as long as it takes to clean up.

I guess its dry by now, use a stanley knife with new blade. gentle not to damage the worktop. if its very thin silicone then rub with finger untill silicone is gone.
Note its gonna take a lot longer to clean up, now the silicone is dry
The silicone eater products dont work, waste of money.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

How To Remove Silicone

Answer 4

There is a silicone remover on the market that most plumbing or DIY shops carry - it smells of oranges! However it is a solvent so to get the best results and minimise how much you use then first mechanically remove the bulk of the silicone with a scraper blade, the tiles are hard and wont cut, treat it like scraping paint off a badly painted glass window pane. Then follow the instructions on the packet. Ian C

Answer 5

Using the razor blade, knife, finger nails only gets some of it off and no matter how careful you are there will always be traces of it left, I use cellulose thinners but not on painted surfaces.... will be OK on worktops, you can get silicone remover ' Silicone Eater' is one brand I'm sure there is more

Answer 6

With some silicone sealant remover at most DIY stores

Answer 7

A good product is called gel gloss. It is a cleaner for marble, granite and acrylic. I use it to clean up after plumbers make a mess with the silicone around sinks. Spray on and let set a bit then wipe off. This also works on cleaning vinyl window frame, get sticky goo off, shine black enamal appliances and black marks off hardwood floors ( be careful on this though as it can be slippery).

Answer 8

I used silicone long before a cleaner came onto the market. I found if you put your fingers onto the set silicone and rub it, at about the same time your fingers start to burn, the excess silicone lifts off. The burns on your finger ends... you get used to it.

Answer 9

If you cannot cut it away you can buy a sealant remover from BnQ and it dissolves the selant that you want to remove.

Another way is to heat it up with a hairdryer and scrape away what you do not want.

Answer 10

Normally while it was still wet you could wipe off the excess. If you allowed it to dry you can cut it with a razor knife and peel the excess away. If its a thin coating you can try paint thinner or laquor thinner to soften it up and that may work. Just be careful what you get the thinner on cause it can leave watermark looking things on some surfaces.