BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

R1250RT LE 2019 with standard panniers


I've bought some Halfords body protectors to stick on to the bottom (black plastic) half of my panniers ready for when I drop the bike...


Unfortunately the dealer applied a liberal coating of silicon polish to all of the bike's black plastic parts before I picked the bike up.


As a result the 3M adhesive on the protectors wont stick, it just glides off!


Does anyone have experience of removing silicon from plastics?


Any help appreciated

Google may be your friend -

One item you may have on hand that helps soften silicone is ​mineral spirits,  which is suitable to get silicone off of hard surfaces like tile, marble or concrete. For removing it from plastic or painted surfaces, however, you should use ​isopropyl alcohol, which won't harm the surface. Regular alcohol you may have for home use may not be strong enough to do the job. Instead, try an industrial-grade isopropyl alcohol with 99 percent purity.

Again, Google says Isopropyl Alcohol is also known as Surgical Spirit.

That's helpful thanks.
Google was my first port of call, however it returned lots of advice about removing silicon sealant (bathrooms). I'm not not sure that I need to "soften it" as my problem is silicon sprayed onto the surface, however Isopropyl alcohol is easy to source so I will try it.
Thanks again.

Paint thinner will get rid of all the surface silicon and tar marks. Beware you only need a small amount. A can from Halfauds cost £5.80.

A brake/carb cleaner or electrical connector cleaner will work fine!


Tape off the area you want to clean and spray it on to a rag and wipe