Silicone rubber as an adhesive

In response to Emily O'Brien's question about how to remove silicone
rubber from ceramics:

Working with the National Park Service last summer, we used a
silicone digestant product from Prosoco called Dicone NC15 Gel (it
also comes in a liquid) to remove old cured silicone rubber residue
from a sandstone gravestone. The product was effective, more so on
smoother surfaces, and was slightly messy but fairly easy to use and
rinse. If allowed to dry on the surface we did see some slight
staining and/or white residue, which faded after a few weeks. I
don't know how it would work on thick deposits of adhesive, as we
used it on surfaces that had already been mechanically cleaned of
the bulk of the rubber. Overall I would say it was definitely
useful, but not a magic solution, as it loosens the hold of the
rubber on the surface but removal still requires a good bit of
mechanical action. It appears to be of a similar composition and
hazard-level as the other silicone digestant suggested in this list,
Digesil NC. Hope this helps,

Beth Edelstein
Graduate Intern
National Park Service
Collections Conservation Branch
400 Foot of John Street, Lowell, MA
978-970-5163


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 16:37
                Distributed: Wednesday, December 4, 2002
                       Message Id: cdl-16-37-014
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