Cleaning silicone off case halves???

[Ron342]

So I'm in the middle of replacing the wrap around plastic case on a squashed Stihl Farm Boss and decided while at it to replace crank seals and wish I hadn't!
The damn silicone sealer (factory I'm sure) is really a pain to get off the half mating surfaces and the little groove in that surface, particularly since I'm trying not to drop any into the cylinder.
I've tried putty knives, gasket scrapers, my bare fingers etc and after an hour am about to try some silicone remover magic liquid.
This isn't a new problem I know so someone must have a better solution????
Help guys!

 

[HarleyT]

Brass wire wheel does good.

 

[HarleyT]

What model? Farm Boss is kind of vague.

 

[HarleyT]

A cat's tongue would be great, if one could get a cat to do it!!

 

[homemade]

A cat's tongue would be great, if one could get a cat to do it!!

You gotta cover the silicone in milk first.

 

[HarleyT]

And mineral oil!!!!

 

[Ron342]

Ok, if you smart guys were here you could help me corner the cat and the saw too! It's a ms290 and i've never used a brass wheel since I thought the brass was harder than aluminum (or maybe magnesium) and would scratch it. Or maybe wind up with wire ends up in the cylinder.

 

[Chainsaw Jim]

Use some type of carb cleaner like B-12 on a q-tip.

 

[Saw Fixr]

A bench grinder with wire wheel works perfectly. A small pick or dental tool for the tight spots. 5 min cleanup, tops.

 

[s sidewall]

Angle die grinder with 3M rolocs, use the ones made for aluminum.

Steve

 

[sawnami]

Pinstripe/decal eraser wheels work good.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[ironman_gq]

I've always just scraped it off, you could use a pick or even a pencil eraser to get it out of the groove around the case if you need to.

 

[ThackMan]

Try a small wire wheel made for a drill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ThackMan]

Try a small wire wheel made for a drill.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s what I used to clean Toyota FIPG off of an oil pan. And that stuff is 10x worse than silicone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nwpa]

I just use my thumbnail and a toothpick for the groove. If it's really stuck on a light rubbing with steel wool.
Make sure you use the gas resistant sealant on reassembly.

 

[Suzuki]

You should find a one gallon jug of parts washer cleaner. As in the parts washer solvent you would find in your local vehicle service garage.

I have found that solvent softens and to some extent dissolves silicone gasket maker. Makes removal much easier.

edit:
Soak the area with parts washer solvent, let sit, then scrape/wipe off

 

[Jeffkrib]

The only thing that I know that will dissolve silicone is Polygon, just read an follow all safety instructions before using it.