Accidentally smeared silicone onto acrylic. Please help :(

Cparsonsss · 05-23-2010, 02:30 AM

I replaced a cracked front piece of glass in a terrarium with a new sheet of acrylic. When I placed it onto the siliconed glass, it slipped and smeared quite a bit of silicone all over the acrylic. Fantastic...

I'm afraid to use a razor to try to get it off... Any ideas.? Is there an acrylic- safe silent to remove the silicone ( I'm guessing probably not

) or will I have to sand it off, ruin the acrylic, and then buff the damage out? I'd really rather have to resort to that if I don't have to.

**xmas_one** · 05-23-2010, 02:35 AM

Try the product "goof off"..

OverStocked · 05-23-2010, 02:58 AM

For the record... silicone forms a craptastic bond with acrylic and will eventually pull away. Also, a piece of glass from a window shop will be cheaper than acrylic. I say scrap it and get the glass and do it right...

CL · 05-23-2010, 03:34 AM

The silicone will probably peel off. Lowes also has glass that they can cut to size for you for a few dollars, though the accuracy might not be spot on.

Cparsonsss · 05-23-2010, 04:15 AM

I wiped it off as much as I could while it's curing and now there is just a cloudy film.

Will "goo off" hurt the acrylic. I know acetone and methylene work great for removing silicone... Also dissolving acrylic

I actually bought the acrylic and had it cut at lows because their glass was soooo thin i didn't feel comfortable buying it. I would rather have had glass but the guy at lowes assured me that silicone would bond to acrylic just fine, and it turns out that it just peels off?

Bet I can't return it once it's been cut, even though the salesman said silicone would bond to acrylic just fine. That sucks.

Beeya · 05-23-2010, 06:09 AM

Silicone doesn't bond to acrylic well at all. Call around to window repair shops and you'll end up paying less for an appropriate piece of glass than you did for the acrylic I bet.

dbosman@msu.edu · 05-23-2010, 11:44 PM

Next time, don't wipe. Let it cure and then peel it off. The film may be very time consuming, but just use your fingers and rub off.
If there is any pressure on the acrylic, it is going to give way sooner or later.

Diana · 05-24-2010, 05:07 AM

Water. Just soak it and it will all fall apart. Silicone does not bond to acrylic (or most other plastics) very well at all.

Then fix it right. You can use thin glass, if you add some on both sides. Otherwise the slightly thicker glass is better.

05-23-2010, 02:30 AM	#1
Cparsonsss Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 2	Accidentally smeared silicone onto acrylic. Please help :( I replaced a cracked front piece of glass in a terrarium with a new sheet of acrylic. When I placed it onto the siliconed glass, it slipped and smeared quite a bit of silicone all over the acrylic. Fantastic... I'm afraid to use a razor to try to get it off... Any ideas.? Is there an acrylic- safe silent to remove the silicone ( I'm guessing probably not ) or will I have to sand it off, ruin the acrylic, and then buff the damage out? I'd really rather have to resort to that if I don't have to.

05-23-2010, 03:34 AM	#4
CL C-A-T-S (View User Tanks) PTrader: (78/100%) Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Lexington, KY Posts: 9,583	The silicone will probably peel off. Lowes also has glass that they can cut to size for you for a few dollars, though the accuracy might not be spot on. __________________ 100 \| 48 \| 33.6 \| 7.2 \| 5.5

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05-23-2010, 02:35 AM	#2
xmas_one Custom User Title (View User Tanks) PTrader: (7/100%) Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 2,060	Try the product "goof off"..

05-23-2010, 02:58 AM	#3
OverStocked Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (76/94%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoDak Posts: 10,732	For the record... silicone forms a craptastic bond with acrylic and will eventually pull away. Also, a piece of glass from a window shop will be cheaper than acrylic. I say scrap it and get the glass and do it right...

05-23-2010, 04:15 AM	#5
Cparsonsss Newbie (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 2	I wiped it off as much as I could while it's curing and now there is just a cloudy film. Will "goo off" hurt the acrylic. I know acetone and methylene work great for removing silicone... Also dissolving acrylic I actually bought the acrylic and had it cut at lows because their glass was soooo thin i didn't feel comfortable buying it. I would rather have had glass but the guy at lowes assured me that silicone would bond to acrylic just fine, and it turns out that it just peels off? Bet I can't return it once it's been cut, even though the salesman said silicone would bond to acrylic just fine. That sucks.

05-23-2010, 06:09 AM	#6
Beeya Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (6/100%) Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 89	Silicone doesn't bond to acrylic well at all. Call around to window repair shops and you'll end up paying less for an appropriate piece of glass than you did for the acrylic I bet.

05-23-2010, 11:44 PM	#7
dbosman@msu.edu Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: East Lansing, MI, USA Posts: 2,710	Next time, don't wipe. Let it cure and then peel it off. The film may be very time consuming, but just use your fingers and rub off. If there is any pressure on the acrylic, it is going to give way sooner or later.

05-24-2010, 05:07 AM	#8
Diana Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Contra Costa CA Posts: 5,013	Water. Just soak it and it will all fall apart. Silicone does not bond to acrylic (or most other plastics) very well at all. Then fix it right. You can use thin glass, if you add some on both sides. Otherwise the slightly thicker glass is better.