Removing Silicone Sealant from Roof

[Sultan06]

I need to remove the silicone sealant around my King TV antenna on the roof of my 2013 Via in order to replace a broken coax cable. It will be necessary to remove the antenna base from the roof to be able to replace the cable. I have ordered the cable and ordered the sealant from Lichtsinn as specified in the sealant call out sheet for my vehicle.

I'm thinking that I would like to remove all the sealant, clean the area and reseal. Is there any trick to removing the old sealant or any cautions that I need to consider?

Thanks for any help.

[creativepart]

The standard method is to scrape off as much of the residue as possible with a razor blade, plastic scraper or flat head screwdriver without scratching the surface you are cleaning. Use mineral spirits, denatured alcohol, rubbing alcohol or even WD-40 to remove residual silicone.

[JoeSR]

I have had reasonable success with Goo Gone.

First I scrap all of the bulk caulk off with a razor blade scraper. I use a plastic blade if the base surface can be damaged.

Once all of the visible caulk is gone, I then coat the area with Goo Gone. Rub it in and then let it set. When I tire of waiting, I clean the Goo Gone off and do a tape test. When it fails the tape test, I repeat with more Goo Gone until it passes.

The tape test is nothing but painter’s tape applied across the old caulked area extending into an area that had not been caulked. Pull the tape off. The amount of force needed to remove the tape between the two areas tells you if the silicone has been removed.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by Sultan06

I need to remove the silicone sealant around my King TV antenna on the roof of my 2013 Via in order to replace a broken coax cable. It will be necessary to remove the antenna base from the roof to be able to replace the cable. I have ordered the cable and ordered the sealant from Lichtsinn as specified in the sealant call out sheet for my vehicle.

I'm thinking that I would like to remove all the sealant, clean the area and reseal. Is there any trick to removing the old sealant or any cautions that I need to consider?

Thanks for any help.

Removing the antenna base can be a real challenge if it's anything like mine was, it was stuck to the filon so well that pulling it off was going to take filon and luan with it. I ended up making a garrote with piece of welding wire and PVC handles then sawed my way through, took forever and I still had some damage that I repaired with Bondo for fiberglass before installing the new antenna. If they hadn't stuck that connector down in that little hole under the base none of it would have been necessary.

[Ray,IN]

You need a specific product to remove all silicone residue after scraping away everything possible.
https://re-mov.com/wp-content/upload...Sell-Sheet.pdf


https://re-mov.com/

[kvmllr]

It's doubtful that it's silicone, as that's not recommended for use on most RV roofs. The original caulk is more like Dicor, whether self-leveling or not. Don't replace the sealant with silicone.

[creativepart]

Originally Posted by kvmllr

The original caulk is more like Dicor, whether self-leveling or not.

Not on Winnebago roofs. No Dicor on Winnebago motorhome roofs.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by kvmllr

It's doubtful that it's silicone, as that's not recommended for use on most RV roofs. The original caulk is more like Dicor, whether self-leveling or not. Don't replace the sealant with silicone.

It's silicone. For some reason, Winnebago went with silicone products. Not my first choice.

Aaron

[Robert T]

It is very difficult to remove all traces of silicone sealant, but it is necessary to do so in order for the new sealant to bond. Mineral spirits won't do it, neither will acetone. You need a product specifically designed to remove silicone such as the one listed in a previous post.