Silicon under door sill plates.....Best removal method?

[Thunder Punk]

I folks. I decided to replace my door sill plates today as the old ones looked a little ratty. The previous owner of the car used silicone sealer under the passenger side plate. I'm having extreme difficulty removing the silicon.

I've used WD-40 and mineral spirits to try and soften it up a bit but it doesn't help. So far I've had my best results using a plastic paint scraper but the progress is extremely slow and labor intensive. I tried very sharp metal scraper but that didn't work any better that the plastic one. I also tried a straight razor. It digs into the paint.

Do any of you know any tricks to get this stuff removed without damaging the paint underneath? I need a nice smooth and clean surface so the new sill plate tape will adhere.

Thanks

[TerryH]

Razor sharp plastic scraper and then mineral spirits. I know of no easy way to remove silicone.

[cstreit]

Unfortunately there aren't any chemical methods to remove silicone that won't also damage your paint. Elbow grease is the only way.

[Thunder Punk]

That's what I figured. Thanks for the replies.

[KCinBR]

Just did the same thing about a month ago.....the silicone is a real pain to get off. I just rubbed with my fingers untill it came loose. I tried solvents without success, I was afraid of removing the paint also.
There's no magic solution just keep rubbing it will come off.[U]

[Dionikes]

Try 3M general adhesive remover. That is what I used. It is not a great advantage but it seemed to melt some of it. It also does a great job breaking down weather stip glue.

That silicone crap is nasty...good luck

[Thunder Punk]

Thanks...My neighbor behind me works on Mercedes and recommended the 3M stuff too. I'll give it a shot. I've got to remove the weather strip adhesive too so I'll need to get some for that anyway.

[TerryH]

This is what I use to scrape silicone off painted surfaces. It's called a windshield stick or plastic knife. Used mostly by windshield installers. Very stiff and very sharp on one end.

Free plug for the Porsche bibles too.

[scottb]

Would a heat gun help loosen it up a bit?

[Thunder Punk]

Originally posted by scottb
Would a heat gun help loosen it up a bit?

Probably not. I think the biggest problem is that the silicon is old and semi dried up so it breaks off in little pieces if you pull too hard. But, it's still resilient enough to retain it's adhesion. If it were newer I may have been able to heat it up and pull very gently to remove it in bigger pieces.

That scraper looks like the ticket. Where might I find one of those? And my copy of Wayne's book should be here any day.


Well, actually it just arrived as I was typing this. Cool!

[boston95]

Goof off. Worked on mine with zero paint damage.

[Thunder Punk]

Ah Hah. Goof Off. Now that's a name I hadn't heard in a long, long time. Will give that a go too!

[TerryH]

To locate a windsheild stick, try your local auto glass replacement company. I buy mine from the manufacturer a dozen+ at a time.

[bigchillcar]

'goo be gone'..same thing as goof-off i think. removes sticky tape backing like magic..some kind of volatile solvent. works for many things.
ryan

[Eric Coffey]

PPG DX330.

[Thunder Punk]

Well, I managed to get it all off of the passenger side and moved to the driver's side tonigh. The dealer evidently used some kind of general purpose white adhesive. What a mess.

So, I used wd-40 on the adhesive and it took it right off. (Little trick learned from removing decal residue from my sport bikes.)
Then I applied some rubbing alcohol to remove the oily residue from the WD-40 and to my surprise that made short work of the silicone that was beneath the adhesive. So both sides are ready to go. Just need to install my weather stripping now.

Thanks fellas.