"Removing Grout and Silicone sealant" Topic

Any ideas on removing either from glazed tiles.

Cheers

Paint scraper?

I cant see how you will remove it without damaging the glaze …

You should be able to pick off the silicone, but the grout could be your real problem.

Phil

I have seen plastic grout and sealant removers. They would certainly be "safer" than metal ones.
As usual "test on an inconspiculus place" first.

Silicone should be removed with a razor and the last bits rubbed off with a plastic scouring pad and a healthy dose of persistant patience.

Grout is harder. Best bet is retiling everything, but if only a spot repair is being done or someone loves the current tile carefully cutting away the grout with a tile cutting blade in a circular saw and finishing off with a grinder can work well. Remember if it is really hard to remove you probably don't need to – use a new mortar than matches the old or bleach the old and stain both.

B&Q sell a silicone remover….it does stink though when you put it on and is VERY messy. You can also pick up a grout file from them but are better off using (carefully!) a really sharp blade.

If cleaning up fresh silicone sealant use baby wipes – seriously they work brilliantly. Try to keep it away from the wet silicone you want to keep but for cleaning it up there is no better and simpler method. Dry silicone, I seconf the rasor and persistence……old grout is nigh on impossible to remove without damaging the tiles – for the reverse you can use a stone chisel or old woodworking chisel (again, very useful for everything and cheap as chips if you don't want them for using on wood!) but it's a dodgy process once dried.

Hey, the old years of being a painter and decorator finally prove useful!

Is the grout on or in between the tiles?
If in between there is a grout saw attachment for your dremel. which works quite nicely, but it is slow and tedious work if you do not want to chip the ceramic coating…

If it is on the tile, a razor paint scraper should work fine

It is a job I should have done years ago (is there a way to hide that statement from Lady Hussar?)

In a couple of places round the bath the sealant was very 'blobby' (read 'compleat mess'). I've got most of it off with the aforementioned B&Q chemical (1 bottle for 'up to 10m. I've used 2 for 5m so far…). It's just the last thin coat that remains – I'm going to try with self adhesive strip, because I can never get the right pressure on a sealent gun trigger, but the glue needs all the silicone removed.

The grout is just on a couple of tiles at one end, where I finished, so a retile is somewhat expensiva and time consuming.

I was worried about a metal scraper on the glaze – comments are making wonder about a plastic ice scraper.

I'd use one of these to remove the sealant as coryfromMissoula says

link

You might get away with using the same tool very carefully on the grout but will knacker the blade.

But it can depend upon how much sealant and precisely where you are removing it from.

The other thingto try is Silicone Eater
link