# Help Silicone Stuck



## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

I am redoing an aquarium. I have to remove one of the glasses fitted with silicone rubber 7 years ago, as it has become scratched. The glass is fitted from inside the aquarium onto a 3/4" frame. As the glass is 20mm thick and is 72"X 24" I do not want it to crack for I can always reuse it for the base of an aquarium.

I have scraped out all the silicone rubber I could reach with blades, but still cannot move the glass.

Does anyone know what solvent I can use for loosening the silicon I have been unable to reach to with my blade?


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## Kenneth (May 22, 2006)

I know gasoline will destroy silicone sealant.


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## jamesB (Aug 31, 2006)

Gasoline is a rather scary solvent.:flame: 
Unfortunately, GE's recommendation of turpentine also requires a bit of effort. See: GE Sealants and Adhesives - Residential Troubleshooting Questions


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

If the glass pane is bedded in the silicone and you cant get a knife into cut it, about the only way to get it out is to break the glass into smaller pieces that you can flex to separate from the frame and get the knife in deeper. I don't think any solvents will help out here as I think it would take a long time for the solvent to penetrate and weaken the silicone. If I'm understanding your tank, you have a frame like the old chrome tanks only larger and the silicone is between the frame and glass as well as in the inside of the tank. Somehow you have to cut that silicone bond.


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## JERP (Feb 4, 2003)

20mm = .787" Your glass is well over 3/4" thick!!!

holy cow, you must live in a dangerous neighborhood to have to protect your fish from stray bullets like that. 

I recommend checking the price of a pane vs a new tank. It might be cheaper to buy a new tank.


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## FishingHobbyist (Jan 17, 2007)

*Building Supplies Store*

I was watching a home improvement/remodeling show on cable, and they used a solvent normally carried in local building / home improvement stores in the caulking / sealant section that will soften and loosen silicon for easy removal (probably not recommended for Aquarium use, but neither is Gasoline). I do not recall the name on the stuff, but you apply it to the silicone and wait, then it pulls right up and any residue can be cleaned away.


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## Kenneth (May 22, 2006)

I was able to remove a glass panel from a tank I had to reseal by using some shim stock from work. It was .005 of an inch thick. I had to work at it but I was able to got it apart.


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

FishingHobbyist said:


> I was watching a home improvement/remodeling show on cable, and they used a solvent normally carried in local building / home improvement stores in the caulking / sealant section that will soften and loosen silicon for easy removal (probably not recommended for Aquarium use, but neither is Gasoline). I do not recall the name on the stuff, but you apply it to the silicone and wait, then it pulls right up and any residue can be cleaned away.


Please help, if you can, find a rerun or get some information from the other viewers, or the channel, for the solvent detail. I would be eternally grateful. This is a wall nich aquarium and my first glass & granite aquarium.


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## Freemann (Mar 19, 2004)

Can you push a very thin steel wire (something like a quitar string) between the frame and the glass and grab it on the other side?
Then someone can hold the string on one side and you on the other and move it along the seam simultaneously cutting it on the process.


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

Freemann said:


> Can you push a very thin steel wire (something like a quitar string) between the frame and the glass and grab it on the other side?
> Then someone can hold the string on one side and you on the other and move it along the seam simultaneously cutting it on the process.


When I was building this aquarium, I remember applying the silicone very lightly to the granite frame then pushing the glass with my legs as I braced against the opposite wall of the aquarium and using all my strength before putting the braces in place. Now I regret I made it so well.

I was worried that silicone would not make a good adhesion with granite, so I made an aquarium with granite sheet using epoxy, leaving the front open except for a granite frame made with 2" granite strips. It is into this frame that I pushed the glass from inside the aquarium. I have been looking for a gap for 3 days to get a piano wire in but I regret I made it so well.

So their; I have been looking for a solvent.

If I can't find an appropriate one, I will take chance with carbon-tetra chloride, injecting it with a syringe into the corner of the frame from both sides.


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## FishingHobbyist (Jan 17, 2007)

*Silicone Solvent (Building Supply Store)*

I am going to the local store today and will see if I they have it in stock (silicon removing solvent), I have to remove some silicone from a botched DIY project from one of my aquariums and figured I would try it and see how well it worked.


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

Just remember that removing silicone from an exposed surface is far easier than having the solvent actually penetrate between the two surfaces that are glued together. If the glued surface is more than a couple centimeters I don't think you will have success with a solvent, unless you have a lot of time on your hands.


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## schaadrak (Aug 18, 2006)

What about some wooden shims tapped in between the frame and the front of the glass? Just take it slow and easy.


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

schaadrak said:


> What about some wooden shims tapped in between the frame and the front of the glass? Just take it slow and easy.


Yes, I will do that too, but along with the solvent. Thanks.

A very slight pressure exerted continuously will help the solvent work better.

I must be careful that the pressures at different points are close equals, else the glass will crack, I think that's what you meant, schaadrak.


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## FishingHobbyist (Jan 17, 2007)

*Silicone Solvent*

Dow Silicone Cleaner Surface
OTTOSEAL-EX Silicone remover
Selleys Silicone Remover (this is a gel, good for vertical surfaces)


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

FishingHobbyist said:


> Dow Silicone Cleaner Surface
> OTTOSEAL-EX Silicone remover
> Selleys Silicone Remover (this is a gel, good for vertical surfaces)


Thanks brother, how did it do when you used it? Fast or slow, any waiting period? Any fumes?

I am sure it is not available in our town's market. So will you please post the full name of the manufacturer and any E-mail address available on the lable of the packet. Have they given any indication of the active ingredient of the product?


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## FishingHobbyist (Jan 17, 2007)

essabee said:


> Thanks brother, how did it do when you used it? Fast or slow, any waiting period? Any fumes?
> 
> I am sure it is not available in our town's market. So will you please post the full name of the manufacturer and any E-mail address available on the lable of the packet. Have they given any indication of the active ingredient of the product?


From what I can tell when looking up the MSDS on the different types_most_ are made from an acetone base, not sure what some others are made from and I do not have the package with me at the moment.
Also, some are listed as Caulk Remover but when you read what they can be used on and what the remove, they will list that it will also remove silicone.

the gel version
Selleys - Silicone Sealants

Hopes this helps, and good luck!


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

Thanks for your troubles, FishingHobbyist.


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

:cheer2: All in one piece:rofl: 
My thanks to all of you.
Especially to Schaadrak.​


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

Congratulations! What a relief!


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

essabee said:


> :cheer2: All in one piece:rofl:
> My thanks to all of you.
> Especially to Schaadrak.​


Awesome...

So what did you use and how did it work?

Brian


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

I had made a number of knife edged wooded shims like Schaadrak advice me to use. Then I injected, using my old glass syringe and metal needles, carbontetracloride all along the border of the glass from inside the aquarium. Now from the outside, I injected between the frame and the glass. I then put couple of pillows inside the aquarium and with the wooden shims tapped in cyclic manner from one end to the other. Got a move and after that it was easy.


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

essabee said:


> I had made a number of knife edged wooded shims like Schaadrak advice me to use. Then I injected, using my old glass syringe and metal needles, carbontetracloride all along the border of the glass from inside the aquarium. Now from the outside, I injected between the frame and the glass. I then put couple of pillows inside the aquarium and with the wooden shims tapped in cyclic manner from one end to the other. Got a move and after that it was easy.


Do you think the carbontetracloride helped or was it mostly the gentle pressure from the wedges?

I ask because I've broken a few panels myself. 

Brian


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

bpimm said:


> Do you think the carbontetracloride helped or was it mostly the gentle pressure from the wedges?
> 
> I ask because I've broken a few panels myself.
> 
> Brian


I think three things helped me in getting the glass in one piece, but I don't know what contribution each had, judge for yourself:-

1) The glass was very thick.
2) The silicone was turned gluey by CCl4.
3) The pressure was applied all along the glass.

Will you believe me if I said I havn't broken any panels? [-X In those days before silicone the best way to remove a scratched glass was to break them. After silicone for the first time I could remove some glasses unbroken. I build and repair all my own aquariums so I have had several broken panels, including granite panels that I now use for the rear of the aquarium.:doh:


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

essabee said:


> I think three things helped me in getting the glass in one piece, but I don't know what contribution each had, judge for yourself:-
> 
> 1) The glass was very thick.
> 2) The silicone was turned gluey by CCl4.
> ...


I'll keep that in mind for future projects, usually when I break a panel it's my own stupidity or impatience that caused it. I like the idea of using granite for the back and bottoms, How thick of slabs do you use? Of course over here granite and glass cost about the same.

Brian


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

bpimm said:


> I'll keep that in mind for future projects, usually when I break a panel it's my own stupidity or impatience that caused it. I like the idea of using granite for the back and bottoms, How thick of slabs do you use? Of course over here granite and glass cost about the same.
> 
> Brian


Impatience is the greatest culprit, next is having only two hands

I use the normal 1/2" thick sheets of granite. Lots of colours available, although I usually take a black sheet for the rear. In the wall niche aquariums, granite being opaque, is an advantage.

There is one change in property from glass you must take note of--- granite is a much better conductor of heat. I use a sheet of styrofoam between the granite and the wall.


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## gibmaker (Jan 3, 2007)

Damn I am too late I was going to say use acetone


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## essabee (Oct 11, 2006)

gibmaker said:


> Damn I am too late I was going to say use acetone


And you would have been right. Actually I am wiser now. This chap was changing windowpanes in frame suck with silicone (wanted one which would cut out the sunlight), he used a mixture of acetone and kerosene (50-50) and the pane came off easily.


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Carbon tetrachloride fumes are poisonous and can cause irreversible liver and kidney damage. If you use CCl4, you should avoid breathing the fumes and keep other people or pets in your household from breathing the fumes.


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## 247Plants (Mar 23, 2006)

(Editied for stupidity...)


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## j_chicago (Jun 3, 2006)

Sorry, I bit late for this but there is a spray called De-Solv-IT. Which is carried by hardware and paint stores, usually by the chemicals or cleaners. Although its a general heavy-duty cleaner, most people just buy it to remove sealants and caulk. It works great.


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