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Replacing gasket on Lewmar Hatch

redbeard1

Member II
Hi all,

Finally getting around to this repair. Thanks for the post by rick and the video by Christian. They were very useful. The PO used silicon to bed and seal and we are spending much time just cleaning the old stuff. We have the bulk off but there are remnants that will take hours to scrape off completely.

It occurred to me to soak the hatch (just the metal part) in mineral spirits for several days to soften the silicon and then use a dish scouring pad to get the soft mess off.

Before doing so, I'd thought I'd ask for advice. Will soaking help? Can soaking hurt the metal? Any other tips?

Thanks in advance.
 

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Try a brass wire wheel either with a drill or even in a Dremel. Use a light touch with the drill and wheel. A little practice and you won't hurt the frame. Finish up with light sanding and wipe with acetone or spirits. I do this routine with all my aluminum frames. This even works on gelcoat contaminated with silicone.
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
I second what Craig suggested.

Everything I've read says that silicone comes off best with mechanical methods. I tried a couple of special silicone removal liquids with no results. I got some cheap, small stainless wire wheels on ebay for my dremel and used those and coarse sandpaper to scrape/sand most of the silicone from a previous repair off. Since my hatches are solid cast aluminum and the area in question was already partially raw aluminum, I could sand pretty hard and got most of the silicone off. For extruded aluminum frames I would be more gentle and try and save the anodizing/coating if possible.

Mark
 

Timsb

Member II
I used gasoline and mineral spirits to soften it up and clean it up. It seemed to make the job a little easier. Although I think mine were the original Lewmar sealant, not sure if that was silicone based.
 
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Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
You can try most solvents--diesel fuel, WD 40, PB Blaster, DeBond--it won't hurt the frame.

But if it is silicone, gotta scrape it off mechanically. And nothing will stick to any residue.

(What will hurt our yacht anodized aluminum is many hardware-store versions of aluminum "polish", which amounts to oven cleaner. CAr guys use it to prepare for polishing. We have to read label and make sure it doesn;t say "not for anodized aluminum."
 

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
Did I mention that using a wire wheel is so much FASTer than scraping or soaking?
 

redbeard1

Member II
Thanks for all the replies. Great ideas.

I'm not sure it is silicone. The PO used silicone in lots of places so I just assumed that I was dealing with silicone given how hard it was to remove. But now I'm thinking it was probably original equipment.

Either way, I have a dremel. If I can find a soft steel/hard plastic attachment brush, I'll try that. Although we are not pressed for time, no point in doing things the hard way.
 

redbeard1

Member II
Just a quick update on this thread. We finally finished this in the spring. It's been installed and leak-free. Thanks again Rick and Christian for your post and videos.

I purchased dremel attachments to use the tips from the other posters on this thread, but my friend had a free evening, and while waiting for me to show up with my dremel, just scraped the residue off by hand.

Still I'm glad I had an excuse to dig out my dremel. It was hiding un-opened in a drawer for years. It recently helped with a rusty nut on my car's suspension and I'm sure more of the hatches will need replacement in the future. It is really a useful little tool.
 
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