Palouse Rider Posted November 12, 2004 Share Posted November 12, 2004 Well I found a nice '85 Odyssey with 78k miles and what seems to be a nice condition motorhome. It has a 1ton axel and nice floorplan with full bath in the rear. It come with 6 new tires, new exhaust, EFI, cab air, and an Automatic w/overdrive. It needs a new propane tank and windshield. There are no leaks or signs of previous leaks, but the former owner overdid it with the extra amount of silicon, whick has left an unsightly mess in some areas. I there a way to clean the over abundance of silicon up? It is a fiberglass paneled unit as opposed to tin which is nice. Any advice from other Odyessy owners woulf be welcome, looks like I have plenty of winter projects in the near future. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolan Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 Congrats PR on your new to you Odessey purchase, sounds like a nice unit, the tank and windshield should be pretty easy fixes. The silicone issue Boy that brings back memories. When I bought my Chinook years ago I think the previous owner got a good deal on a 55gallon drum of the stuff and a trowel, it was everywhere. I tried numerous things to remove it with no luck, finally called a silicone manufacturer and asked if they knew what would cut the stuff, they pretty much said nothing, but to try MEK )methyl ethyl ketone) or tolulene both an industrial strength solvent, they did a fine job of cleaning it to look new but very little to remove it. Being the mad scientist I am I mixed a little of each together with some gasoline to slow down the evaporation rate (kids don't try this at home) then using a paint brush kept brushing it on to keep it saturated for several days, it did finally soften and wrinkle it up making removal easier but not complely off, the rest was done scraping, rubbing until my thumb print was gone and wire brushing. I might mention I planned on repainting so paint survival wasn't an issue, and all the aluminum trim was sanded and polished also. So the best i can offer is a lot of scraping, trimming with a razor blade, and rubbing is in order, or some of the special mix to help soften might help with care to where and how much to avoid other damage to paint or plexiglass. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palouse Rider Posted November 14, 2004 Author Share Posted November 14, 2004 Thanks nolan, that's pretty much what I figured. I don't much like the thought of breathing that much toluene ,but we'll see. I was thinking of trying a hot air blower like housepainters use to soften the mess and then paint it off. I shouldn't complain about it, as there is no sign of water damage inside and the fellow does live in Portland, OR after all. The stick on graphic strips are peeling in places, I will probably take them all off and then have some new ones painted on. Thanks for the input! ~PR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR.D Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 Congrats on the new purchase and good luck with the blow dryer. Let us know how that works, I have the same issue myself around every win dow of my '90 Dolphin. I'd love to pull all the windows and get the crud off of everything, and then reseal properly, somday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 Silicon is probably one of the hardest products to get completly off. And even if you do it can still be difficult to paint the area as microscopic parts get left behind which makes the paint bleed off. The rub methode is one of the best. There is a large erraser that is for cleaning belt sanders. Its big and can be shaped to a chisel point on the end. Somethimes if you can get the silicon dirty with something its easier to see and remove. A lesson here is never use silicon to seal around areas. Chances are it will not stick in places and leak, then you have to remove what did stick and hope another product will stick to the silicon you could not get off. Congrats on the purchase and by the way where are you located? Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palouse Rider Posted November 15, 2004 Author Share Posted November 15, 2004 Thanks! I'm in Spokane, WA. My wife and I plan to take a trip to visit relatives in Nashville and then on to Virginia and back next May. I hope to have our rig ready by then. I don't think there is much to do really. The issue with the silicon is cosmetic only, and bugs me beause I'm anal that way. I'll take it to a reputable service tech I know and have the mechanics gone through. It comes with 6 new (2k miles) tires. It seems to run and shift fine. ~Cheers sorry, I love the smiles.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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