MacGregorSailors.com

For those of you that have done the window job on a D/S, any tips on getting the silicon removed? I’m gently scraping, but this is looking like two days of slow progress.

This thread gives information about window replacement, but it does not approach the topic of silicon removal,

viewtopic.php?p=337607#p337607

Maybe this can help?

https://waterproofcaulking.com/how-to-r ... ofessional.

You will want one of these with a scraper blade (or the brand-name tool if you can afford it).
https://www.harborfreight.com/power-too ... dless.html

"Makes difficult jobs easy, and impossible jobs possible."
Plunge-cutting through fiberglass is another of its tricks.

I’m not sure I’d take power tools to the job, having done it myself in the past. It’s a delicate affair, and a mistake is not easily rectified. I replaced windows on my Mac, and I’ve done this same job to fiberglass Lotus sports cars a great many times, so hopefully I can give some tips.

I used a wooden scraper to remove the big bits, then followed up with single-edge razor blades to remove most of it, then followed with acetone on rags to scrub off the remainder. It was tedious, but it left the aperture undamaged and smooth. I then used alcohol to do a final cleaning before applying the adhesive.

My replacement was detailed in this thread:

viewtopic.php?p=74566#p74566

And I contributed more info into this thread:

viewtopic.php?p=83813#p83813

Also, there is now a product for removing 3M 5200 and other adhesives that *may* be of use. I’ve not used it yet, so I can’t vouch for it, but it sounds promising.

https://store.marinebeam.com/un-hesive- ... e-remover/

kmclemore wrote: ↑Fri Jun 21, 2024 6:30 am I used a wooden scraper to remove the big bits, then followed up with single-edge razor blades to remove most of it, then followed with acetone on rags to scrub off the remainder. It was tedious, but it left the aperture undamaged and smooth. I then used alcohol to do a final cleaning before applying the adhesive.

Thanks kmclemore! This is almost exactly what we ended up doing. We used a razor to cut off the bulk of the material. I then used both mineral spirits and acetone to soften the silicon and scrape with a plastic razor blade. It was incredibly slow work, but the results were pretty great. I can’t believe how impactful new windows are on the look of these old boats. No more rose colored views from the cabin!