In my day-job I am an industrial chemist.
There are two ways of removing things – partition or dissolution.
The easiest is dissolving it –
The key thing in dissolution to remember is like dissolves like.
Water will only dissolve polar items (e.g. salt and sugar).
White Spirit/Turps dissolve very unpolar things e.g. tar, wax
Meths – Methylated alcohol – will dissolve at the middle to polar end.
Std paint thinners is acetone/toluene – good across the board as it is a mixture of a polar and a non polar solvent.
Acetone is also sold as nail varnish remover.
Perspex is polyacrylonitrile – a poly cyano compound.
Polycarbonate is stronger but very solvent susceptible.
Both are relatively polar – but also crystalline.
Dont use acetone on either as it will irreversibly damage them.
I would suggest that most sealants (except silicones) are likely to be complex cross linked polymers that are designed for high and low temperatures but will be closer to the non polar end than polar.
The problem is that without access to a chemical lab – most other solvents are not open access…
The alternatives are IPA and ethanol (booze).
As suggested the best option is to let it soak -so that if it is not fully dissolves – it may at first swell it – which will allow you to mechanically remove it.
If suggesting to use water/soap – you are using the partition process – where you are trying to get a little bit to be suspended in the soap in the water – a long process. This is what happens in a washing machine and in the sink.
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