Re: New wood window, beading or linseed putty?

[Jerry Built]

Scrape some of the back of a hinge, if it's hard to tell. If you look at the end of the hinge, where the knuckle ends, you can usu. see by looking - a brass hinge may well have machining marks, and the pin should be almost indistinguishable from the metal of the hinge. "Brass plated" hinges are generally more poorly made and are "looser".

Ask the man that made the window :~).

Primer, undercoat, gloss (coats) is normal.

Yup - however, maintenance should mean that it's not needed!

The problem with beading is that it is more prone to leaks and rot. It should be secured with non-rusting pins to prevent rust bleed through the paint. I like putty!

J.B.

[Dorothy Bradbury]

>---- or do I bypass that and go on to the #2 trade undercoat?

> > I'd personally follow a primer coat with undercoat.

Noted.

I don't see how beading would be any less effective on a softwood > window, if that's what you have. From a d-i-y standpoint the only > demanding bit is mitreing the corners. That is, if you're going to > take it all around.

No knots anywhere, so could be red cedar?

The beading has already been cut & primered for me, but I note it has hard-edges (not rounded) which isn't so ideal with paint, plus my history with hammers near glass isn't good :-) So I may go with fresh putty.

I'm tempted to try the old window frame with an opaque woodstain, the overcoatable kind, to see how that does in comparison to weathershield. Sikkens Rubbol AZ is on a part-iroko/part-softwood-primered 8ft gate, an overcoatable paint - gate used to rot in 2-3yrs, now hardwood frame. So will be interesting to see how those 3 compare as a test.

Thanks.

[Jerry Built]

Well, it's been used for a l> As it's a new window it is supposed to be double glazed to meet

That ain't necessarily so.

J.B.

[N. Thornton]

I would think for external use putty would be by far the winner. Its very long lived indeed, and no leaks get past it to the wood for a long long long time. Cant think of anything else that performs so well.

Getting it to look nice is easy with a wet knife.

Regards, NT

[stuart noble]

Acrylic putty is infinitely superior. Stays flexible and can be painted within a couple of hours. Linseed putty dries out in any but the most sheltered and shady locations. IME the major cause of rotting in windows.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

When nailing beads in place, the trick is to keep the hammer firmly pushed against the glass. You might find it easier to use a small club hammer held by the head.

And don't forget to use the same trick when sinking the nail heads with a punch.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article , stuart noble

[Jerry Built]

M a i n t e n a n c e ! I'm "doing up" some sash windows at the moment, they've been neglected, so it's a matter of taking them apart, cleaning the timber, and putting them back together. The glazing has only ever been putty, and they are still in good condition, despite at least 20 years of nil maintenance. Perhaps the linseed oil in the putty helped preserve them.

J.B.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In my limited experience ordinary putty will survive several external decorations before requiring replacement - and it's cheap and easy to do so.

I've not tried acrylic, but I can't see how it will stick to wood to prevent water ingress any better than acrylic paint. Ie, not very well. It's the wood itself which moves and has surface changes which makes it detach from the substance - and this will happen outdoors even with two pieces of wood glued together with any type of glue - eventually.

[stuart noble]

Sliding sashes usually have very little room for putty and, the thinner the layer, the less chance of it staying soft. I'd certainly use acrylic in this case. I've seen thirties casement windows where the original putty at the top and sides was still soft but, on bottom rail, was shot to pieces. With a half inch rebate you stand a better chance.

[stuart noble]

If the surface won't take it, end of story, whatever you're putting on. No coating will do the job on its own, the wood has to be reasonably firm for the coating to form a proper film and not lose its solvent prematurely. Wood hardener (polyester in some form) is your only man.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article , stuart noble