# Getting silicone off of a bathtub? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408 "2004-10-21T14:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/1 "2004-10-21T14:27:36Z")
Since I’m presently employment-challenged, I’m doing a small renovation in one of our bathrooms. One of the chores was to remove the sliding glass doors and put up a shower curtain in their place. The doors were, of course, sealed on all sides with silicone caulking. What works well to get this stuff off the tub? I tried the old standby WD-40 without success. I really don’t want to have to scrape with a blade and possibly scratch the paint. Acetone? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/2 "2004-10-21T14:31:19Z")
I don’t know of anything that will dissolve it, though someone might. I’ve always worked very carefully with a single-edged razor blade. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/3 "2004-10-21T14:49:51Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Since I’m presently employment-challenged, I’m doing a small renovation in one of our bathrooms. One of the chores was to remove the sliding glass doors and put up a shower curtain in their place. The doors were, of course, sealed on all sides with silicone caulking. > > What works well to get this stuff off the tub? I tried the old standby WD-40 without success. I really don’t want to have to scrape with a blade and possibly scratch the paint. Acetone? You don’t want to use acetone – that will probably ruin the paint worse than blade scraping. I’d suggest looking for a handle-mounted scraper blade; that should minimize the risk of collateral damage. ---
**Author:** ![Elvez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@Elvez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvez)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/4 "2004-10-21T16:04:48Z")
A razor blade will scrape most of the stuff off. Then you can use a fine-grade (00 or 000) steel wool to gently buff the remaining streaks. You should be able to get the steel wool from a hardware store next to the sand paper. Don’t use the steel wool that people use for washing dishes and pots and pans. There’s some much finer stuff that won’t scratch the porcelain tub. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/5 "2004-10-21T17:03:34Z")
Stop with the razor blades and steel wool! There is a blue gel they sell at Home Depot made by Liquid Nails that will soften your caulk. After a few hours you can remove it with a hard-edged plastic knife or dull putty knife. It worked well for me. ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/6 "2004-10-21T17:05:10Z")
I’ve always used a razor paintscraper (very carefully). That will leave some little bits stuck, use something like a nylon dishscrubby and a lot of elbow grease to remove 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/7 "2004-10-21T17:28:34Z")
> [@stuyguy](#): > > There is a blue gel they sell at Home Depot made by Liquid Nails that will soften your caulk. :eek: 😃 But will it put a hinge in my sword? ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/8 "2004-10-21T19:52:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The doors were, of course, sealed on all sides with silicone caulking. I assume you meant the door frames. what are the walls, tile? The tub itself porcelain enamel? In both cases a single edge razor blade, with care. > [@](#): > > I really don’t want to have to scrape with a blade and possibly scratch the paint. Acetone? If it is really paint of some kind you may have to live with it if you can’t remove the silicone with a razor blade. No solvents on paint! ---
**Author:** ![cj\_finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@cj\_finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cj_finn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/9 "2004-10-21T19:55:50Z")
This magazine had a nice tip on removing cauld that involved making a scraper from a hard plastic such as plexiglass or lexan. You can get this stuff at Home Depot. Simple get a piece that is about the size of a chisel or putty knife and cut, grind, or otherwise put a sharp end on it. You now have a good scraper for removing caulk that won’t scratch the tub. cj ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-silicone-off-of-a-bathtub/270408/10 "2004-10-21T21:21:14Z")
> [@spingears](#): > > I assume you meant the door frames. No, we had to use a ladder to climb over into the tub to take a shower. :rolleyes: I attacked it with a razor blade and got most of it off. Just the residue left to clean up. On the plus side of this project, the skim coat I had to put on to cover up the mess behind the mirror is coming along well, as is the patching. And I think I’ve found a nice replacement light fixture for the crappy light bar that has been in there since we bought the place.