How to Get Silicone Lubricant Off of Wood

Your respect for silicone lubricant, or silicone caulk, is bound to grow once you try removing it from wood. This is because the caulk is superb at sealing wood so that water and moisture cannot penetrate it. Removing the lubricant from tile and glass is rather simple, as you can usually scrape and lift it right off. With wood, however, the lubricant tends to penetrate the surface, making removal a bit trickier. Still, with a steady hand, patience and repetition, you can remove the lubricant and refinish your wooden piece so that it looks like new.

Blow dryer
X-ACTO or craft knife
Needle-nose pliers
Fine-grade sandpaper
Murphy’s Oil Soap
Clean cloth

Instructions

- 1
  Heat the area with a blow dryer until the silicone caulk feels pliable and moist.
- 2
  Position the X-ACTO knife or craft knife under the lubricant bulb, trace around it and gently try to lift it. Continue tracing around the edge of the bulb with the knife, being careful not to scratch the wood.
- 3
  Grab the bulb with a pair of needle-nose pliers. If it looks as though the lubricant might lift up but take some of the wood with it, apply more heat with the blow dryer and try lifting it again.
- 4
  Cut off pieces of the lubricant bulb with the knife if the bulb begins to break into pieces.
- 5
  Sand any remnants of the lubricant with fine-grade sandpaper. Do not leave even a tiny trace of lubricant or even a lubricant sheen on the wood because it will repel paint, varnish or any other finish you try to apply afterward.
- 6
  Treat the area by spraying it with Murphy’s Oil Soap and wiping it with a clean cloth.

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