I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...
I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Single edge razor blade?
Randy

~Roy~ wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits

Basically alcohol.

(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?

I gather you are looking for something to soften the sealant?

The stuff I use here suggests Turpentine for cleaning up when putting
sealant down and wiping off excess, but I am not sure how well it
resoftens the dried sealant.

You can try it, but in my experience, I usually end up slowly cutting
away strips of old sealant with a razor, box knife, etc.

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:57:12 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Try LPS PreSolve. Let it soak for a while.

Pete Keillor

In article ,
(~Roy~) wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?

I doubt either will have any effect - RTV silicone's great resistance to
many chnicals is one of its strong points. Methylated sprits is the UK
term for what the US call denatured alcohol, [or perhaps wood (methyl)
alcohol, but the "methylated" tends to imply the "denaturing" (making
poisionous) of "sprits" (ethyl) alchol with a bit of methyl], and I
doubt that will have any effect on it. Nor should turpentine. A razor
blade (or music wire with handles to pull on it) is your best bet.

In actual fact and past experience, I strongly suggest getting a new
aquarium. Getting the glass clean enough for a reliable bond is tricky -
go try the aquaria groups for advice, experience, and advice based on
experience. The inital cheapskate response (yup, I'm one too) is to fix
the tank; the true cheapskate who's been there (yup...) and done that
knows that it's generally cheaper, and a lot less painful in the long
run, to replace it. A tank blowout is hard on the fish, the keeper, and
anything that should not be wet in the general vicinity.

--
Cats, Coffee, Chocolate...vices to live by

I may be able to get a piece of .020" stainless wire in between the
pieces and get it started. I was sort of doubtful much of anythng
would dissolve it, but figured I would ask. Now that know what
menthalated spirits is, I seriousl doubt it wold dissolve it either,
same for turps......

As to being cheape....heck I have nothiung but lots of free time on my
hands, lots of RTV, and other sealants, more glass than I'll ever use,
so its basically something to fool with, besides 75 gal tank is kinda
pricey.

I do have a acrylic tank all cut out and ready to be assembled, made
out of 1/2" acrylic. It should be right at 55 gal, complete with a
custom made hood and light.... Just waiting for my Weldon
Methylchloride to get here and the Weldon 8 gel type solvent
glue.......I machined all edges so I should theroetically get a good
optically clear glue joint with the MC solvent wicked in with a
hypodermic syringe.

Thanks for the replies




On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 01:25:22 GMT, Ecnerwal
wrote:

===In article ,
=== (~Roy~) wrote:
===
=== I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
=== chemicals out there to do it with?
===
=== Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
=== (sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?
===
===I doubt either will have any effect - RTV silicone's great resistance to
===many chnicals is one of its strong points. Methylated sprits is the UK
===term for what the US call denatured alcohol, [or perhaps wood (methyl)
===alcohol, but the "methylated" tends to imply the "denaturing" (making
===poisionous) of "sprits" (ethyl) alchol with a bit of methyl], and I
===doubt that will have any effect on it. Nor should turpentine. A razor
===blade (or music wire with handles to pull on it) is your best bet.
===
===In actual fact and past experience, I strongly suggest getting a new
===aquarium. Getting the glass clean enough for a reliable bond is tricky -
===go try the aquaria groups for advice, experience, and advice based on
===experience. The inital cheapskate response (yup, I'm one too) is to fix
===the tank; the true cheapskate who's been there (yup...) and done that
===knows that it's generally cheaper, and a lot less painful in the long
===run, to replace it. A tank blowout is hard on the fish, the keeper, and
===anything that should not be wet in the general vicinity.


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Correctly spelled, "methylated spirit (or spirits)":

Ethyl alcolol made unfit to drink by the addition of methanol, or methyl
alcohol; denatured alcohol.

Bob Swinney

"Peter T. Keillor III" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:57:12 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Try LPS PreSolve. Let it soak for a while.

Pete Keillor

snip

I do have a acrylic tank all cut out and ready to be assembled, made
out of 1/2" acrylic. It should be right at 55 gal, complete with a
custom made hood and light.... Just waiting for my Weldon
Methylchloride to get here and the Weldon 8 gel type solvent
glue.......I machined all edges so I should theroetically get a good
optically clear glue joint with the MC solvent wicked in with a
hypodermic syringe.

Thanks for the replies
Ya got bigger ones than I do, Roy - 55 gal and a little bit of
solvent???? Keep your life preserver handy...
Ken.

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...
I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

No. That's why it's such great stuff. g

Actually, consumer-grade RTV silicone can be softened by some damned thing,
I think it's the stuff they use in industry to strip epoxy paint. It's not
MEK and it's not methylene chloride. I forget what it is. You're not
supposed to open a can of it indoors, without a fume hood.

As others have said, a razor blade and a lot of patience is the most
practical route.

I really hate stripping silicone, even bathtub caulk. I use a blade and a
stainless-steel brush for that, but it produces only barely adequate
results.

--
Ed Huntress

Oil and patience.

like 5 years worth



wrote:
I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:59:51 GMT, "Randy Replogle"
wrote:


"~Roy~" wrote in message
. ..
I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Single edge razor blade?
Randy

Thats about the only choice if one plans on using it for fish again.

Gunner


Lathe Dementia. Recognized as one of the major sub-strains of the
all-consuming virus, Packratitis. Usual symptoms easily recognized
and normally is contracted for life. Can be very contagious.
michael

In article , ~Roy~
wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!


Chloroform.
I have used it several times.
It is the only solvent that can actually liquify cured silicone rubber.
It is available from any chemicals dealer.
There is no license needed to buy it.
A 1 gallon jug is about $25.

It is also the best grease remover on the planet.

I had to dismantle a factory assembled shower door unit to have the
parts powder coated.
I made a trough from a piece of aluminum gutter, and soaked each edge
of the panel.
After 1 hour the glas would just pull out.
The silicone had the consistency of uncured rubber cement.

Use in a well ventilated area or better outside.

In Chemistry labs chloroform is used to break the silicone grease seals
on vacuum chambers.

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...
I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?

Roy, unless it's an automotive "gasket grade" silicone, pretty much any
aliphatic hydrocarbon will soften and swell it so it's VERY easy to cut
and/or scrape away with a razor.

Naptha works very well. You must soak the joint for a while. Afterwards,
the silicone will appear more transparent, about twice its original volume,
and very very soft. It will _not_ dissolve, but certainly loses its
mechanical properties.

A good airing-out will restore the joint to almost-original strength.

LLoyd

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 07:06:35 GMT, Gunner
wrote:
snip
===
===Thats about the only choice if one plans on using it for fish again.
===
===Gunner
===
===
===Lathe Dementia. Recognized as one of the major sub-strains of the
===all-consuming virus, Packratitis. Usual symptoms easily recognized
===and normally is contracted for life. Can be very contagious.
=== michael

I can probably use Potassium Permanganate to clean up any potential
residues any chemicals would leave. PP is some pretty neat stuff.....

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:57:12 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Ordinary petrol (gasoline).

Ask any model airplane pilot who is interested in larger models.

Model airplanes are usually powered with methanol engines. For fuel
lines, silicone is used, since it has such excellent mechanical
properties. Larger planes, however, are sometimes powered with petrol
engines (much cheaper and cleaner to run). In this case, silicone
cannot be used, because it swells and loses all its good properties.

--
RoRo

Robert Roland wrote:
On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:57:12 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote:


I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?


Ordinary petrol (gasoline).

Ask any model airplane pilot who is interested in larger models.

Model airplanes are usually powered with methanol engines. For fuel
lines, silicone is used, since it has such excellent mechanical
properties. Larger planes, however, are sometimes powered with petrol
engines (much cheaper and cleaner to run). In this case, silicone
cannot be used, because it swells and loses all its good properties.

That's true for most standard silicone sealants. Some of the newer ones
for automotive use are fuel resistant.

This stuff works on all of them:

Permatex® Silicone Stripper Gasket Remover
New, patented product. The only remover designed specifically for
silicone and the Right Stuff® Instant Gasket Maker. OEM approved and
safe on all metals and plastics. Will not remove paint. Easy to use –
apply to silicone residue, wait a few minutes for product to react, and
wipe with a rag.

Suggested Applications:
Use to remove any silicone or Right Stuff® Instant Gasket Maker residue
from flanges.

P/N Container Size Pack Item #
80647 2 oz. tube, carded 6 80647

--
- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX

Gasoline will dissolve it but fairly slowly.

Randy

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...
I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?


The name is actually 'methylated spirits' and it is a 'wood alcohol'
that has been rendered 'undrinkable' (although it is regularly imbibed
by homeless types around the globe). On the left side of the pond it
seems to be known as 'denatured alcohol'.

Here are some links for more info.

http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/methylated+spirit

http://website.lineone.net/~paul.fra/fuelnames.html

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZSI95Y1937.html

http://tinyurl.com/3t5mc

HTH.

--
Larry Green

R. O'Brian wrote:
Gasoline will dissolve it but fairly slowly.

I found out about that one in my youth.

About 1 week after I used it on a
carburator gasket. (:





Randy

"~Roy~" wrote in message
...

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?



==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

Gasoline will dissolve it but fairly slowly.

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Have heard menthylated spirits....what the hell is menthylated spirits
(sp?) Also heard Turpentinme will do it?

Depends on the variety of silicone. If it's the garden-variety caulking
silicone gasoline works. Many of the automotive gasket formulae are
fuel-resistant.

--
- -
Rex Burkheimer
WM Automotive
Fort Worth TX

Larry Green wrote:

The name is actually 'methylated spirits' and it is a 'wood alcohol'
that has been rendered 'undrinkable' (although it is regularly imbibed
by homeless types around the globe).

They added "syrup of Ipecac" or something to it in this country and you
would have to have absolutely no taste to drink that. When that was
done, I had to carry the burner for my metho stove seperately from
everything else, because one drip really ruined a nice cuppa. Made me
wonder how much of it I had drunk in the past before it had a taste.

Larry Green wrote:


The name is actually 'methylated spirits' and it is a 'wood alcohol'
that has been rendered 'undrinkable' (although it is regularly imbibed
by homeless types around the globe).


They added "syrup of Ipecac" or something to it in this country and you
would have to have absolutely no taste to drink that. When that was
done, I had to carry the burner for my metho stove seperately from
everything else, because one drip really ruined a nice cuppa. Made me
wonder how much of it I had drunk in the past before it had a taste.

Back in the UK where I grew up 'meths' was always a purple colour and
had a distinctive smell (don't know what it tasted like as I never had
the courage to try it....lol). It was however the drink of choice for
the 'tramps' (hobos) and street people as it was readily available,
cheap and I suppose gave one heck of a kick!

We always had at least one bottle of the stuff in our home growing up as
it had a multitude of uses but I primarily used it in the burners for my
model steam engines and my parents used it when camping in the good old
'Primus' pressurized paraffin (kerosene) camp stoves and storm lamps.
'Meths' was used as the primary fuel to heat the burner prior to opening
the valve on the pressurized paraffin. I well remember the 'flare ups'
that would occur if the valve was opened before the burner had reached
the required temperature. Instead of a nice ring of blue flames or a
bright light you got huge yellow flames and lots of black smoke....lol.
The smell of 'meths' or paraffin still takes me back to those days of my
youth.

I often wondered about it's usefulness as a cleaner/solvent though as
the purple dye would be left behind after the 'meths' had evaporated
away. Isopropyl alcohol has now largely replaced 'meths' as a
cleaner/solvent due to it's clean evaporation properties.

--
Larry Green

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 00:57:12 GMT, (~Roy~) wrote:

I have a cracked sidepanel in an aquarium I need to remove. Any good
chemicals out there to do it with?

Nothing dissolves it but it can be swelled and softened by many
chemicals including xylene and toluene.
When Iwas a kid I replaced the fule reserve valve in a Vespa Motor
scooter, and used a generous gob of silicone rubber to seal the
gasket. A few weeks later, the machine STOPPED.
I looked into the tank and saw what looked for all the world like a
flock of jellyfish floating around in the tank. The stuff swelled up
hugely and then broke loose and swam around until one of the things
got into the fuel line.

On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 22:11:50 -0500, Larry Green
wrote:

===
=== Larry Green wrote:
===
snip
===Back in the UK where I grew up 'meths' was always a purple colour and
===had a distinctive smell (don't know what it tasted like as I never had
===the courage to try it....lol). It was however the drink of choice for
===the 'tramps' (hobos) and street people as it was readily available,
===cheap and I suppose gave one heck of a kick!
===
snip

I have heard and seen hobos and whino's etc drinking that stuff, as
well as melting down sterno camp fuels and drinking that. Was always
told if you run it through a loaf of bread as a filter, it will remove
the bad stuff thats in it, and give you drinkable (to them anyhow)
stuff..........Don;t know if the filtering it through a loaf of bread
is an old wives tale or not, but I have heard it many times
over........

==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!