Learning to reglaze your old windows is something that scares the pants off of many homeowners. But fear not! It does require practice and a bit of an artist’s touch to get it just right, but like anything, practice makes perfect. You can learn to reglaze your old windows yourself with just a little practice and some good training.
However, describing how to reglaze your old windows in a blog post is a bit like trying to teach someone to dance via cell phone. So, I’ve put together a short video to walk you through the steps of bedding and reglazing an old window. Along with a few tips and resources I’ve included in this post, you should be able to reglaze your own windows with confidence.
That’s right! The Craftsman has its own YouTube channel! And I’ll be posting lots more videos to teach you all kinds of new skills. So, stop by YouTube and subscribe to our channel for updates whenever we post a new video. And don’t forget to like our video and share it with your friends if you find it helpful.Tips
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- Always prime a bare sash with an oil-based primer prior to glazing.
- Wear gloves when handling antique glass. It is very brittle and can easily break.
- Wait until the glazing putty has formed a skin (3-4 days for Type-M putty or 2-3 weeks for Dual Glaze putty) before you attempt to paint.
- Do not prime the glazing putty after you have glazed your window. Just add 2 coats of a quality enamel paint.
Resources
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- Sarco Glazing Putty – This is the only brand of glazing putty I recommend. It is linseed-oil based and as close to the old stuff they used to use. If you are glazing your windows in a garage or shop, use Sarco Type-M putty. If your windows will be glazed outside and exposed to the elements prior to painting, use Sarco Dual Glaze.
- Diamond Glazing Points – These points are the smallest and easiest to hide under the glazing putty which allows you to have the cleanest glazing lines.
- Speedheater Cobra – For removing old paint that may contain lead paint, infrared heat is a safe way to get the job done. It’s expensive, but most things that work well usually are. *Always use proper protection and follow the EPA’s rules when dealing with lead paint.
- Glazier’s Tool – For me, this tool provides the best angle to get a nice smooth line and allows me to cut in to get perfect (most of the time!) corners.
If you’ve got more tips or suggestions I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below.
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I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance.
Thanks Scott ! Have ordered my plans and steamer through him, looking forward to it!
Scott, any suggestions to where I can purchase plans and supplies( steam equipment) for a steam box? I’ve seen videos and it looks pretty cool. I have 13 – 6ft lower sashes …………. May be the best way to go for these large sashes
Olde Window Restorer sells plans for a steam cabinet at http://www.oldewindowrestorer.com/steamcabinet.html
The plans are not to hard to follow, and you can modify the plans for the size sashes you need to fit.
I have 2 historic homes in Galveston Tx. Circa 1884 & 1887 so we’re talking LOTS of sash windows ! A great number of them in need of repair so the glass HAS to come out and most of them still have their original tin glass ,which having survived multiple hurricanes will probably continue to do so if I don’t break it ! Here lies my frustration….. I’ve tried it all, silent stripper, chemical, heat, My Dremmel uuuugh everything but it’s a 130 years of putty on putty, usually some caulk and lots of sloppy paint. Last week I had a 4’X4′ 2 light sash on my table and thought I try a different approach. With a sponge brush I applied boiled linseed oil along the old putty and window edge. I let it soak in for about 15 min ( the painted over putty was intact with no cracks but the sash was in need of repair) next I used my glass scraper with a new single edge razor and started work my edge around the glass to release the paint / caulk from the glass and BAMM the putty just started breaking off with it. In some areas the putty was a little more stubborn so with the razor I’d make little cuts along the wood edge and reapply more oil, wait, and again the putty just released from the wood. So excited I decided to time it from start to finish it took my 35 min to remove the putty, caulk , points and glass with no gouging to the frame ! In a 4’x2′ piece of glass that’s 12 linear feet of 130 plus years of junk out in minutes ! All with oil, window scraper, razor knife & sm pliers, I’m so jazzed I can’t tell you.
Very cool! I’ve never tried that. We usually use a steam box for deglazing. Softens the putty right up!
Think I might have painted my dap33 glazing on s couple windows too soon. Do I need too scape it off or will it harden eventually?
If the putty wasn’t skinned over enough before you painted then you probably got cracked paint. You can either remove the putty and start again or you can wait a bit longer and paint on top of what you already have. You might notice the cracking through the fresh paint but depending on the color it might not be too noticeable.
Hi Scott,
I am using the 3/8 glazing points since they hide better. I do not wish to buy a mechanical install tool for the points and am using the fletcher hand tool instead. However, those glazing points are all stuck together for use in the mechanical tool. They are VERY hard to separate. I experimented with the following and it works very well.
1) Put 1/2 in water in stainless med or small pot on stove top.
2) Put in the string of points.
3) Bring to med boil for 3 minutes.
4) Poke with a fork while in the hot water to break up the point string.
5) Remove pot, drain water and slide the wet points onto a paper towel. Finish separation if needed.
6) You will see a very slim clear plastic strip (what holds them together). Remove these pieces of plastic and simply lift the towel and slide the points into a container with a lid for future use.
Dave, thanks for being the guinea pig! Great idea for other readers.
Hi Scott:
WARNING TO ALL: This is an experiment. Try it at your own risk.
I back and working on the last remaining sashes that need reglazing and think I have come upon something that you might want to experiment with.
On most of the windows I waited until I was doing the final latex painting to tape the windows. But today I tried taping after cleaning and prior to the primer. Using the edge of the tape to define the glass corner of the bevel and aligning it with the wood edge beneath the glass. Once I had the glaze down and beveled properly, using the tape edge closest to the putty as a straight line guide, I was able to lift the excess putty more easily away from the tape with primer on its surface than can often be the case when lifting Multiglaze from clean glass.
While I plan leaving the tape until after I apply the latex I lifted one piece to see how clean it would come up. I have a perfect putty edge and can just see the wood underneath the glass.
Give this a try. You might be pleasantly surprised with how much easier it makes the process of getting a straight glaze line of the proper width. It surprised me.
Scott, I order one gal. of the sarco dual glaz. It came two weeks ago I glaze my first set of windows I like to know what the skiming over looks like after 12 days it still some what soft.And does the glazing take stain thanks Ron.
Christine:
You probably won’t find Sarco Multi Glaze at the hardware store. But it will move your work forward faster and with less problems than the alternatives. Just remember that the putty does not dry overnight. in a few dys your get a crusting over of the surface that you can paint. But the putty will still be somewhat soft and require care in handling.
Have fun. Restoration is always far more gratifying than the daunting task of it implies. Time and love are the most important investment.
Excellent points Pat!
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I am a woman who owns and is trying to restore an older(1920’s)cottage and I find it’s very hard to find good advice or anyone who knows anything about restoration. I just had a kid in a local hardware store try to tell me to use silicone caulk! He had no ideas what glazing putty or glazing points were! I obviously said NO to the silicone Ha Ha! I’m off to the big box store to find putty – I did buy Dap Window glazing and glazing points but the putty looks much better.
Scott,I be ordering one gal. of sarco dual glaze
Scott, thank you very much for your honest opinion and quik respones about sarco glazing I will order one 1/2 gal when in the next two days when i reglaz my windows i will have apiece of mind knowing that i made the right decision that my windows done right and last a long time. thanks again
I owe an older home and about to start to refinish 18 windows in the house and garage I would like to know is sarco way better than dap 33 thank you.
Ron, in my opinion Sarco putty is the way to go. It’s easier to work with and has a long history of time tested quality performance. It’s what they use on the White House’s windows!
Blatant endorsement:
Sarco Multi Glaze Type M.
As a neophyte to glazing needing to fix 16 sets of double hung windows plus some smaller hinged windows in preparation for selling my house I started out with the Dapp 33 glazing putty from the local retailer. Ugh!
In desperation I bought a gal. of Sarco Multi Glaze type-M. My first reaction: WOW! It does everything right that Dapp does wrong. Sure its messy on the hands but it can be scraped off with a putty knife and washed EASILY will Dawn dish detergent. (anyone doing house repair and rehab who is not willing to get your hands dirty should hire a professional to get their hands dirty for you and get the job done right.)
Handling is a dream. My work time has been cut by 75% easily. The Dapp was a real pain for that first seal under the window pane. Type-M simply squeezes down to the needed amount without much pressure at all on the pane. The glaze holds on a fresh oil primer surface like its supposed to do. Working the glaze with a putty knife is like cutting butter at room temp.
Dry down, in my case, is 3-4 days since I have an enclosed south facing porch that I can leave the sashes sit facing the sun. Anyone with an small room, an electric space heater and a fan can easily get a good crusted surface in days not weeks.
Throw your Dapp 33 away and get the Sarco. No matter how many or how few windows you have to work on this will make it a world easier.
Couldn’t agree more!
Hi Scott:
I’m down to rehanging my sashes with plans to replace cord with chain. In the first set the sashes are no longer holding in place with the chain. Its as if the sashes are now heavier than the weights. All of the weights, on this window, are the same weight. And I have tried to replace the retainer bead into the same positions. I’m tempted to add a couple of heavy washers onto the weight but I’d rather set them right rather than do a Rube Goldberg on them.
Any ideas?
Pat, I honestly don’t have too much experience with sash chains, but the weighting of the sashes should be the same unless you made modifications to the sash. Are you wanting to change from cords to chains for appearance?
Both appearance and durability.
The only change that I made was fresh putty and paint. And I oiled the pulleys.
The next frame, that I just finished minutes ago, is traveling 100% the way it should. without oil on the pulleys. The problem window, I guess and hope, is just one of those freaky weird things that happens sometimes.
The window I’m working now has a four ft. bottom and two ft. top sash. The weights were reversed back in history explaining why they never worked right.
I’m selling this place and want to leave it in better condition than I bought it. The windows are being the challenge of a lifetime. Five different size sashes among sixteen boxes to rehab. Good practice for the house I am buying.
Thanks for the reply Scott. An honest ‘no answer’ is better than your offering untried ideas.
If the weighting isn’t right you can always try to find bigger weights at a architectural salvage yard. Best of luck with all the windows. Each one gets easier!
I found this place a couple of hours drive from me but I haven’t decided on a course of action yet: http://www.windowweights.com/
I am finding that it is getting faster as I learn what is needed versus what is absolutely ideal.
Water? I’ll have to try that. I am used to trying to leave a material in its original condition without adulteration until use.
We’re on the same page about table work. Besides I have box repairs to do, paint buildup and wood, along with lead concerns. Everything open and accessible is the only way.
I like that Dap worksheet mostly for the graphic.
Thanks for verifying my plan of action.
I would check about Dap and the water, but with traditional oil-based putties the water doesn’t mix with or “adulterate” the putty. It stays separate and then you pour it off the top when it’s ready for use again.
As a glazing neophyte I found your video hugely helpful.
My question is: once glazed and in that crusting off period can I rehang the shashes in the sun and exterior environment until painting? I have many sashes to do and I just can’t leave the house without windows.
A couple of POI’s.
I found a steam machine I purchased to remove wall paper to be very helpful in removing glaze in a potential lead paint situation. Caution needs to be used in using steam on wood. Finished or unfinished. It will though soften layers of paint nicely and wet keeping down dust.
By default I am working with Dap 33 and found quickly that the trick is mental not material. Most tip pages, including Scott’s video, quickly pass over the pressure application aspect of applying putty. But if most folks are like me the perspective we first approach the putty from is as an adhesive. Its not. It is the compression of hard pressing the putty that results in it holding in place. (If applied to clean surfaces.)
I’ve seen some pretty messy work from people trying to dilute the putty. Ugly.
Finally, if I ever learn how to cut a straight line in putty I’ll be a happy camper.
Thanks for the great video Scott!
Pat, great point about the putty not being an adhesive. It does indeed firm steady pressure as you draw the knife across the putty to get a good seal.
As for reinstalling the windows while the putty skins over, It depends what the manufacture of your particular putty says. I’m not sure about Dap33 but Sarco makes a dual-glaze putty which can be reinstalled and reacts well to ultraviolet light, however their multi glaze Type-M putty should only be used in the shop and needs to be painted before reinstalled. Hope that helps!
A Dap 33 PDF I found answered my question. Windows should be hung and adjusted prior to applying the putty and installing the glass.
More important to your readers, Dap has a cross section illustration in their PDF of the proper bedding of a piece of glass.
One other POI about materials freshness. Once I open a tub of putty, or anything of the sort, I use some wax paper, aluminum foil or plastic pressed over the surface of the material to prevent air from drying the surface. Kind of like a floating lid on a large liquids container where evaporation is an issue.
Pat, we typically store our putty (Sarco) with water on top to make sure there are no air pockets. You might wanna give it a shot.
Also, as far as reinstalling the windows prior to puttying I wouldn’t do that. It is much easier to glaze a sash laying flat on a table. You can do it in place, but glazing on a table will yield faster, more consistent results.
Great details about reglazing, but you don’t really write or talk about how to get the glazing off without breaking the glass. The infrared paint removers use low heat and soften the glazing so you don’t have to hack at it with a regular chisel. I didn’t like the Silent Paint Remover. I had quality problems with it after my first year. Check for other infrared paint removers and find the one that is UL-certified for quality. Some are more expensive but worth it for better durability
I just noticed another difference between the way I have been doing it and the way Scott recommends. For a long time I was just painting glazing compound with two coats of a quality exterior latex paint. I never noticed a problem, but I changed awhile ago to priming the putty with an oil based primer before I painted it. I changed after I noticed that priming was recommended by the Dap 33 instructions. Maybe not needing to be primed is an advantage of the Sarco Putty?
Sarco recommends NOT priming their putty. It’s hard for me to feel comfortable doing that, but sticking with manufacturer’s recommendations is almost always the safest route.
I am sure I have much less experience than Scott does, but I have repaired and reglazed more than 100 windows and through trial an error have mostly come to do it about the way Scott does. The differences:
1. I use Dap 33. I just started out using this because this is what the home centers carry. I’ve never used anything else and maybe what Scott recommends is better. It sounds like Dap 33 requires a little less set up time than the Sarco putty which is a good thing from my point of view but beyond that I don’t know why one product versus the other.
2. I use Dap glazing compound in a tube for the bedding. I use this instead of Dap 33 because it goes down faster and is easier to squash flat when you install the glass. I don’t think it works very well for the window glazing itself because it sags and in general just looks kind of ugly in time.
3. I use a two handed technique with the putty knife. I use one hand to hold the knife steady against the frame and a second to drag the putty knife along.
4. I use the points with the bent up edge. Sometimes they are just barely covered by the glazing compound, but at least on occasion somebody as cut the old glass a little on the small side and if they were any smaller I’d need to get new glass.
5. I’ve been making the glazing compound bevel end as close as possible to the edge of the inside rabbet. I think I’m going to go with Scott on this. I’m going to start making the bevel a little more narrow.
6. I clean up the oil from the glazing compound on the window with whiting. This allows me to make the window mostly clean while I wait for the glazing compound to set up so the window can be painted and cleaned. Maybe the Sarco Putty is less messy to install than the Dap 33 and doesn’t leave the window with oily smears the way Dap 33 does?
Just poking around the site a little bit more I stumbled on the tip about using plaster instead of whiting. That sounds like a great idea. I have to make a special trip to get whiting but I always have plaster lying around and it is much cheaper as you said.
Dave, thanks for all the comments! It sounds like we do about the same thing with our windows.
I tried the DAP 33 at first and liked it too the main reason I switched for a couple reasons.
1) When restoring old windows I would come across some that were redone only a decade or two ago with DAP. The DAP was chalky and crumbling. I didn’t like its lack of flexibility after such a short period.
2) Several other window restoration companies I know where using Sarco or similar products and they didn’t like DAP. I figured if it’s what the pros are doing then I should look into it.
3) Sarco’s putty is the closest in formulation to what they used back in the day and that putty lasted 70 years in some cases. I want those results.
4) We do use the larger glazier’s points occasionally if the rabbet is big enough and, like you said, if the glass is a bit too small for the frame.
Those are good tips. I’ve found it is sometimes tricky to remove the old putty, especially on larger panes of glass. My glass supplier shared a great tip: Don’t try to remove old putty in sun or in hot temperatures, but instead do the work in shade and early or late in the day. The old glass is more likely to break in the hot sun. Obviously if you remove the old sash then you can work indoors, but for a picture window sometimes you don’t have that option. It can be heartbreaking to crack a large pane of wavy glass!
Jack, that is a good tip, thanks for sharing it. Yeah, I don’t mind breaking a couple small panes but when you break 30″ or 40″ window it kills me.
We’re building our own steam cabinet now and looking forward to trying it out because stubborn putty is the easiest way to break windows.