Silicon residue

[Bigtrains]

So long short my 150 broke. My awesome LFS guy knew a guy in a tough spot and had a 180 with stand and new synergy reef overflow for a very fair price. We are to a point of cleaning and getting ready to plumb it. The tank previously had a corner overflow removed. I installed a bulkhead and plugged it. There is a wicked line of silicon residue where the overflow used to be. I've tried a few ideas to remove it, but we are not making any headway. Ideas?

[Lsufan]

A real sharp razor blade will get most of it but if it doesn't get it all u can try some acetone & steel wool. U do have to be careful using steel wool though because it can scratch the glass. I would try it on the back glass first to make sure it goes ok with no scratches before u try it on the side. U may want to try the acetone with a rag first to see if it does anything before trying the steel wool. With the razor blade it gets a small layer at a time & u have to keep going over it with a sharp blade.

[Bigtrains]

I had #0000 steel wool and acetone. No luck. I do not have new razor blades. I'm probably going to try that next I suppose..

[Sandy Cheeks]

Get a pack of single edge razor blades and scrape it off, clean with denatured alcohol and repeat untill all gone.

[Bigtrains]

I picked up a 10 pack of razor blades last night. It seems like there is something there to scrape off, but no bueno. I'm going to try again maybe at lunchtime and see if I have better luck.

[Synden]

That does not look like silicon residue, and razor blades would work if it was. That looks like the glass has been scratched up and hazed over. You can try some muratic acid or even vinegar to try and clean it, but if its scratches in the glass, there is little you can do for it.

[marioensf]

If you run a blade and it seems to be rough, I'd agree that could be scratches. Silicone is stubborn but can be dealt with.
There are new liquid? products that remove silicone, just careful where it's applied.
Check Home Depot.
If those are indeed scratches, get a glass polishing kit from ebay.

[Bigtrains]

I just checked. It's a residue. I'm assuming the silicon has been there a looong time. I'm still holding hope.

[mkj]

strong vinegar or a gunk remover product from Homedepot

[RocketEngineer]

Use straight edged scraping utility knife blades to remove as much as you can. Then I used a fiber cleaning/polishing wheel on a rotary tool. The fibers in the wheel will wear off as you work but I've had good success cleaning old glass for baffles in a sump.

[Fache]

Rubbing alcohol. Pour some on and let it sit for a few minutes and scrap and repeat.


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[Bigtrains]

So here's what I've tried... acetone, steel wool, new razor blades, rubbing alcohol, and barkeepers cleaner. I'm giving up hope. Lol. I'm going to swing by a glass place on my way home and see if they have any ideas. I will also try a polishing pad. After this I'm just going to have to live with it. Maybe creative rock work?

[marioensf]

Cerium Oxide kit from ebay to polish it out. Either for an angle grinder/polisher (variable speed preferred) or a drill.

[Ou8me2]

It's not silicone then if you tried all that stuff. Acetone alone would gum up the silicone and you would easily be able to scrape it off if it was silicone. In fact be careful with acetone as it will eat silicone if left on a long period of time. I usually use razor blades 200 pack is dirt cheap but I'm usually resealing a tank when I purchase that amount. I use rubbing alcohol to clean the area.

[Oliver Giesler]

Rubbing alcohol and lost of elbow grease working the razor blades will clean of the silicon residue,used this method many times and always very succesful.