Ask Jon Eakes

Last Updated: Sunday, January 11th, 2004, Created: Sunday, January 11th, 2004

Repairing old fashioned wooden framed windows

Whether you still have some of those old storm windows, or have single glazed windows used as decorative dividers between rooms inside the house, you may need to know how to work with window putty.

The old putty is generally removed with a carpenter's chisel. Work carefully so as to not break the glass. If you are trying to remove hardened thermo plastic caulking, you are definately limited to the hammer and chisel and even at that stand a good chance of breaking the glass because of the tough hard nature of this material, which is why we use a special window putty for securing window glass, not caulking. If you have a lot of windows to re-glaze you may want to invest in about the only power tool that will do this job, the FEIN MultiMaster. Lucklly the tool itself is multi-purpose, it is the blades that are very specialized. For window putty it is best to use the HSS blades and clear out the teeth regularly with a wire brush to keep it from overheating. This blade is really designed for cutting sheet metal, so don't let it get burried in the putty with it's oscillating action because it will bang off the teeth on each end of the blade. A few precautions but this power tool gets this job done quickly and neatly.

Once the glass is removed you can use a paint scraper to clean off all remaining putty from the frame. It is a good idea to prime paint all of this area before putting the glass back in, as this is the best way to protect the wood and the putty will stick better as well.

If you need to replace a piece of glass, cut a piece of cardboard to fit perfectly into the frame and either use that to cut the glass yourself, or take it to the glass store where they can make an exact copy, complete with any strange angles you may have in that old frame.

In the first picture you see me using the putty knife to push in 'glass points'. This particular type of glass point has ears that stick up, which can be caught by the putty knife. So you can simply put the putty knife flat on the glass and push the point into the wood. These points are great for windows and picture frames because they are so easy to install.

You can buy window putty in a caulking tube these days, but it is not as good as the thick putty that you knead in your hands. Besides, kneading putty is more fun than just having it come out of a tube. The key to getting the putty to stay put is to use a flexible spatula and force it into place with a very low angle which puts a lot of pressure on the putty, as in the second photo. This doesn't scrape the putty off, but forces it down and the excess comes out the sides. Simply come back with the knife and scrape up the excess from each side. A quick wipe with a finger to seal the edges and the job is done.

By the way, if the putty seems to be too sticky and is all over your hands, you have not sufficiently mixed the putty and you have too much of the putty oil left in the can or bag. You need to completely mix the entire can or bag to get the right consistency. I mention this because some of you viewers noticed that the putty was unusually stuck to my fingers on the TV show. When we mixed the whole can it worked better, but the show was already over.

Keywords: Caulking, Frame, Glass, Putty, Techniques, Tools, Windows

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