Vent: Customer's Ford Focus that rolled into my shop last Thursday

Somebody slathered RTV silicone all over the valve cover gasket surface. How do you clean that mess without scratching the aluminum? Anyone got a trick for getting that stuff off clean?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomasgonzalez6d ago

Whoa, hold up. I see this a little different honestly. I've cleaned a ton of these older Focus valve covers and I've never had much trouble with a good plastic scraper and some brake cleaner. The trick is hitting any thick spots with a quick heat gun blast to soften it up, then scrape. You're not gonna scratch aluminum with a plastic scraper, it just won't happen unless you're really going at it. And for the stubborn residue left behind, a lint-free rag with some acetone on it will wipe it clean without any scoring. Never had an issue doing it that way myself.

fiona_hunt716d ago

200k miles on my last Focus and I swapped the cover twice. Never once used a heat gun. Just brake cleaner and a rag. Scraping always left tiny grooves I could feel with my fingernail. Maybe I'm doing it wrong but I don't think a plastic scraper is totally harmless on soft aluminum. @thomasgonzalez you might just be lucky or have a light touch. Not trying to argue but I've seen people ruin covers thinking plastic can't scratch.

ivan_harris6d ago

Have you tried putting some painters tape down first around the area you're scraping? That way you're not actually touching the aluminum at all, just peeling the gasket off the tape.