Removing old caulking

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I looked but could not find a thread on removing old caulking from the roof vents. Is there an easier way other than scraping and getting fustrated at this task. Maybe some miracle "Goop" to slop on it and soak for awhile. Some places it is soft and others it is like concrete. 25 years of various build ups. A million thanks for any suggestions.
Willma

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You can try to soften it with a hair dryer.

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Mineral spirits seems to soften it up.

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Mineral spirits?? that sounds good. I tried lacquer thinner on mine, and didn't get very good results. ended up using Simple Green and a scrapper.. didn't take that long, but I did have to work at it.

I need something that or someone who can tell me the difference in all this stuff.
Mineral Spirits
Lacquer Thinner
Paint Thinner
Acetone
Paint remover
They all sound like they should do the same thing, but I think each one does something different, but I never remember what.

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Thanks everyone. It is finally done, lots of elbow grease , scraper and time.
Looked like three layers at different times in the life of the vent.
Bought new tops, should have bought the whole vent.
Willma

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Jana:
Mineral spirits and paint thinner are the same thing. Used to thin paint (duh); cheaper than turpentine, which used to be the thinner of choice for oil-based paint.
Lacquer thinner used to be 100% MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone), but I just looked at the ingredients in the can I have in the shed, and it's got all kids of stuff in it.
Acetone is the stuff that your chemistry teacher poured on a Styrofoam cup to make it dissolve and impress the students on the first day of class. I think it also used to be used as shellac thinner, but I've never used shellac.
Paint remover is a very broad term describing a variety of products used to...I forget what.
Fortunately for us, gelcoat is impervious to a lot of chemicals, so we have a lot of latitude to experiment.
Dale

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Jana,

What Dale said. :)

They are toxic in acsending order from MS to Acetone. Respirators-- not dust masks-- are a great buy and will save you some braincells that you might someday want to use for remembering your own name.

:wave

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Orginally posted by Kath Lynch

What Dale said. :)

They are toxic in acsending order from MS to Acetone. Respirators-- not dust masks-- are a great buy and will save you some braincells that you might someday want to use for remembering your own name.

:wave

:laugh by all means I want to remember that. :) thanks a bunch for the info. and with my allergies, I don't get near too much that smells strong, so the respirator for sure for me.

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Good old can of WD40 softened up that old stuff so it could be removed easier. The first layer of stuff was like cement with the gooey stuff on top. Gooey came off fine, it was the cement one
that needed the WD40.
Willma

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Thanks for the tip, Willma! Glad you found something that worked... :cblob