Removal of Silicone? **Updated**

[markoJEK1]

As title states, dont get me wrong not the silicone that holds the headlights together, but previous owner of these headlights, had eyelids on there, and theres is a fair amount of silicone left on there, and im wondering what the best and safest way of removing the silicone is without damaging the headlight. thanks

[chunky]

where can heavy duty silicone spray be purchased?

[markoJEK1]

where can heavy duty silicone spray be purchased?

what do you mean? your looking for silicone tubes?

[chunky]

lolz oops sorry man
talking bout the wrong thing

[vinnY]

i just rubbed mine off when the headlights previously had silicon stuck to it
just takes a while
could always get a plastic knife to help you get under the silicon

[markoJEK1]

i just rubbed mine off when the headlights previously had silicon stuck to it
just takes a while
could always get a plastic knife to help you get under the silicon

rubbed yours off with what? , on these there is quite alot of it and i mean alot, pretty mucht he whole surface area on where the eye lid was sitting, its not just flush glue to the headlights, its big uneven and unlevel chunks also

[vinnY]

guess mine was just dirty when they stuck it on because all i used was elbow grease
there are silicon removal solutions available from hardware stores but if they eat into silicon i can't imagine they'd be good for your headlights

[markoJEK1]

yeah thats my asumption precisly, so looks like a long day ahead of trial and error tomorrow, PS they are genuine ek9 headlights :P

[aaronng]

Not silicone, but I had to get some black urethane glue off paint, which was used to hold the badge to the boot. Used a PROPER random orbital with a medium cutting pad and some medium swirl remover. Took off the little urethane bits easy. You'll have to remove as much silicone as you can by hand first before using a random orbital on it.

[markoJEK1]

will trye it aaron , i am cutting down the big chunks and im thinking of getting really fine sand paper and giving that a go also

[zel05]

Like i said on msn...eucalyptus oil works great

[aaronng]

I wouldn't use sandpaper. If you get any marks on the headlights, it'll be a big PITA to fix.

[markoJEK1]

yeah , thats the downside of sand paper, eucalyptus oil here we come, will update this post once ive tried that

[Gio]

i agree go the oil

[steve88]

theres special silicon remover i purchased from bunnings, its a sludge ujust apply and leave it for about 1hour and it will break the silicon down, itll only take off about 0.5cm-1cm of thickness of silicon at a time, but its MUCH cleaner and neater alternative. i did it on my headlights too remove excess silcone before resealing. worked great :).

[m0nty ITR]

What about the sikaflex on your bodywork from removing windscreens and windows? I've just had all glass removed from my car and I wanna get it off before painting the car.

[JohnL]

Scrape it off with a sharp razor blade, won't hurt the glass. Once most is off then try the eucalyptus oil for the remnants, or maybe paint thinners or similar. Be careful, razor blades are sharp!

[markoJEK1]

Hey guys just to update, and the method I used, the headlights look like new, there is no resedue or marking that are visible. My method was, and trust me there was alot of silicone will upload pictures tomorrow. I firstly cut down as much silicone as possible with a blad to make it as thin as possible, before the headlight was in any danger of been damaged. Then I applied turps to it, stopped, scratched off as much as possible with finger (only thing that wouldnt damage the plastic imo) , applied again scratch off, repeated this for a good hour, then I got the never dull metal wadding polish, applied that let it haze over ( scrubbing alot while applying the product) with this method took another good 1-2 hours to remove the last film of silicone, and in the end I polished the headlight, and its looking like brand new. will show before and after pics tomorrow perhaps tonight if I get the chance, thanks for the help to everyone.

[aaronng]

Nice work! :thumbsup:

[Merlin086]

What about the sikaflex on your bodywork from removing windscreens and windows? I've just had all glass removed from my car and I wanna get it off before painting the car.

Try petrol to soften it, it cleans hands while it is still damp, so it should soften it enough to scrape off the bulk, then a clean rag to get the last bit off.

[markoJEK1]

Here it is guys, the before, the after, and on the car

http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/2029/11012008317oe8.jpg

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2081/12012008326mx4.jpg

http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/5854/12012008327pl6.jpg

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5273/12012008328xk7.jpg

[Killa From Manila]

hoooooooooooooot
ek9>halos