solvent to remove broken trim?

[cufishfan]

Hey all! I had a 55 gallon glass tank, and the cross-brace across the top broke. So I bought a new trim and tons of silicone sealant, and I'm in the process of ripping the old trim off. However, it's not going nearly as well as I'd hoped.
The trim comes of in pieces, leaving behind a lot of sealant. And I'm using so much force breaking the old seal (using a paint scraper to pull the trim away from the glass) that I'm afraid I'm going to stress or even break the glass.

Is there any kind of solvent I could use to weaken the old silicone so I can remove the trim more easily and get all the old silicone off before I clean and put the new trim on? I'm having such a hard time that I'm sure I'm missing something.
Thanks!!

 

[tropills]

that's the only way to get them off is to pull them in sections. you can cut the old frame into smaller pieces with a hack saw blade and peel it off then scrape the old silicone off and clean the rest up with alcohol.

 

[culp]

i always used a new razor blade.