Plumbers mate putty removal ?

[brk1]

Is there an easy way of removing this stuff , a house where we are working is being totally gutted then re-built to a different spec ,all contents are being scrapped so I've been able to obtain an excellent bathroom suite , Quality looking Heritage make ,and a good quality cast iron bath , bit of lime scale damage to taps etc that I'm removing with de-scaler ,they look like they'll come up just fine ,but what's the best way to remove that always pliable, sticky plumbers m8 putty used to make the fittings ,the plumber who fitted it all was a bit heavy handed with the stuff, now I've got to try and get the fittings all clean again before re-use, I know a lot of plumbers make there fittings with silicon these days instead of plumbers m8 ,but I'm hoping to get fittings clean first before refitting time .Any help would speed the cleaning process no end

 

[tonybhoy]

Use another piece of plumbers mate to take it off.

Like bread dough if you no what I mean.

Just keep working it together and it will eventually come off.

 

[oilman]

Try soaking in vegetable oil or glycerine

 

[brk1]

Thanks guys ,will try both ,heavy handed was a bit of an under statement , its on every washer, caked on all the threads , it obviously done its job ,but so much to try and get off again , paraffin removes normal putty ,but getting it off those threads ,washers, basins , you name it ,it's caked in mate

 

[gigz]

Use a wire brush on the threads or anything that isn't on show.