Remove or repair silicone caulk around outside wall mounted light

[Crystal]

My husband (without coming down too hard on him) skipped the step of smoothing the clear silicone caulk around our new outside light fixtures after it was applied. Consequentially, it looks horrible. It is very thick and beaded (too much was applied), and some of the excess caulk has dripped onto the surrounding brick and even got smudged onto the light fixture itself - which is a black aluminum finish.

Is there any way to repair this mess without damaging the light fixture? If so, how would I go about removing the dried caulk?

I would really appreciate some help on this one!!!

 

[Ian]

Can you take a photo of the problem please, as that may help us understand what it looks like.

I suspect that if you liberally sprayed WD40 over the silicone and left it for a few hours, you'll find it comes off much easier. Just make sure it won't interact with anything else nearby that may cause a problem. Whenever I need to remove silicone (for example, when re-doing a shower tray), WD40 makes the job so much easier - it helps release the silicone from the adhering surface.

 

[Crystal]

Hi Ian-

Thanks so much for the reply. I've uploaded some pictures for reference. Do you think the wd40 will be able to tackle this with out damaging the black paint on my fixtures?

Also-should I use a knife (at about 45 degree angle) to cut away the thick, goopy excees from the edges?

Thank you!!

 

[Ian]

I'd do a test on a small area first, but yes, I think it should work ok. I would score around the fixture/silicone with a blade (making sure not to touch the paint) and then remove the light fixture completely, before attempting to clean it up. You could try cleaning it up in-situ, but it would take a very long time and be quite difficult!

 

[muttley04]

Or you could try the even easier route of using silicone remover.
Here's an example
http://www.diy.com/departments/unibond-all-purpose-sealant-remover-80ml/196519_BQ.prd