I used the wrong stuff to seal my windows.
March 22, 2012 7:53 AM Subscribe
You know that peel-away silicon caulk you can use to seal up leaky window panes in the winter and then dispose of in the summer? That stuff's awesome. Unfortunately, I must have accidentally used the regular silicone caulk last fall. Any ideas how to get it off without destroying the finish on the panes?
Panes are antique gumwood and finished with varnish. I managed to get one open with a plastic caulking tool, but there's a lot of residue around and naturally I scratched the pane up a bit. There's got to be a better way!
Panes are antique gumwood and finished with varnish. I managed to get one open with a plastic caulking tool, but there's a lot of residue around and naturally I scratched the pane up a bit. There's got to be a better way!
Best answer: Slice off what you can with a razor blade - if you're patient and careful, you should be able to do this without marring the frame (hate to be a pedant, but the pane is the glass part of the window). Once you have a bead starting to come off, you can pull on the free end so that you have to apply only minimal pressure with the blade.
Then use mineral spirits to remove the residue left behind. Test on an inconspicuous part of the widow first to make sure the mineral spirits won't damage the finish. On a cured finish, you should be okay; just use as little as you can get away with, quickly wipe dry, and make sure it doesn't pool on any horizontal surfaces.
posted by lost_cause at 8:21 AM on March 22, 2012
Then use mineral spirits to remove the residue left behind. Test on an inconspicuous part of the widow first to make sure the mineral spirits won't damage the finish. On a cured finish, you should be okay; just use as little as you can get away with, quickly wipe dry, and make sure it doesn't pool on any horizontal surfaces.
posted by lost_cause at 8:21 AM on March 22, 2012
Response by poster: I should mention that I managed to get the window open with a razor. just peeling isn't doing it. probably because I was too liberal with the application.
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:41 AM on March 22, 2012
posted by Mayor Curley at 8:41 AM on March 22, 2012
Right, some of the caulk has filled the small gap between the sash and the stop. A razor knife is really about the best way to break that seal and get the window working again. Once you've done that, then use the process I described above to remove the caulk.
posted by lost_cause at 9:04 AM on March 22, 2012
posted by lost_cause at 9:04 AM on March 22, 2012
Best answer: There are various kinds of gel caulk removers. They basically soften it enough so that your manual scraping/pulling is easier. I've tried this 3M remover and Mckanica remover, and they both worked for my situation. It might be different for a wood windowsill - not sure about that.
posted by barnone at 11:21 AM on March 22, 2012
posted by barnone at 11:21 AM on March 22, 2012
« Older I want to work when I'm working and not work when... | never stick anything smaller than your elbow into... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by jon1270 at 8:11 AM on March 22, 2012