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Silicone nightmare

R

redbeardmark

Well Known Member
There I was, whistling while painting the elevators, when the paint started to blister/wrinkle in four different places. Small patches about the size of one's palm, but real ugly. I used LPS-1 to lubricate the rod-end bearings during the annual, and must have got some on the elevator.

Anyone know how to clean the silicone off? It looks like I'll have to peel up the blistered paint, mask off the rest of the elevator, and re-apply etch primer/sealer primer/basecoat/clearcoat. But gotta get that dang silicone off.

Thanks in advance,
Mark
 
3M makes a pre cleaner for removing silicone. Also a additive can be added to the paint to help wit fisheyes. Sand down the affected areas as well as areas to be sprayed , clean, tack rag, and respray.
 
cleaning silicone

As 'rv7 2003' mentioned, there are products that are designed to take off silicone, and they are available at most body shops and paint suppliers. Acetone will also work, I would guess. I would recommend doing the cleaning before sanding, so you don't grind the contaminants into the surface.
 
Du pont makes a product called "Prep Sol" that works well. Dispose of your rags often during the cleaning process, and be sure to use clean towels for the final clean-up. Do not use commercially laundered shop towels. They contain caustic residue that will spoil your paint surface.

Bob
 
Lubrication

Not sure what Van's reccommends, but isn't LPS-2 a more traditional lube for control surface bearings, and isn't LPS-2 petroleum based??

I think LPS-1 is somewhat equivalent to WD-40, and mainly silicone.

...gil in Tucson

The small Grummans recommend MIL-L-7870 .. hard to find, but is sometimes called "instrument oil" - it's thin and penetrating with a wide temperature tolerance, both hot and cold...
 
I wouldn't be so sure it's silicone. If you had silicone on there and cleaned before painting, you'd likely get fisheyes, not blistered, lifting paint. There's a whole lot that can go wrong with paint besides surface contamination.

Steve Zicree
RV4 Wiring
 
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