The Glazier's Art

Saturday I started a project I have known about and have been avoiding for more than two years, and that is a comprehensive renewal of the window glazing compound on the Casa de Dougloid.

Of course the Dragon Lady did her part by staying out of the way and refraining from offering helpful suggestions, for which she earned a tip o' the hat from yours truly.


The time consuming part is chipping out the old glazing putty that's deteriorated but still hanging tough, without inflicting too much damage to the window frame and glazing strips. I knuckled under to the temptation to try an electric sander to speed up the chore and succeeded in breaking one window pane which now must be replaced today or I will die a horrible death.

It will give me a chance to try out my heat gun and see if that speeds the process any. I hope it does because the windows at the front of the house have 12 panes each and they are up off the ground an injurious distance.

The way to remove the balance of the old putty, or as much as you deem safe is with a sanding block and some 40 grit paper for digging out and leveling what remains of the old stuff. There are also some temperature and time constraints-the glazing putty must be repainted, it cannot be applied at low temperatures, and it takes a week to cure enough to paint it.

There are allegedly rapid cure latex products on the market and I even have a tube of the stuff, but for right now I am using good old fashioned Dap 33 oil based stuff.

One trick I figured out on my own is that if the surface of the glazing putty looks grainy after you've run the knife across it, it can be made pretty by lightly brushing it with a clean paint brush.

Thus the esthetic sensibilities of all true artistes are satisfied.


What I really need and can't afford is new windows all around.