Frank Stacey wrote:
"Adrian Simpson" wrote in message
...
I opened up my tub of putty today to find that it had all gone
solid. Can I bring it back to life, or is it destined for the bin ?


TIA

Adrian
--

Is there some modern material which replaces putty?
My own attempts at using putty, for glazing, finish with my hands an
oily sticky mess and he job doesn't look very good either.

Frank

you are preparing the putty incorrectly, or not at all

it should be kneaded like dough, and some of the oil removed if it is too
sticky, this is easily done by rolling it out on newspapers or cardboard
until the correct consistency is acheived. It should be rolled and kneaded
so that it's all the same consistency - no lumps of hard stuff, nor any
pockets of oil.
A thin bead of putty should be applied to the rebate by thumb, making sure
there are no misses, then the glass offered up to the opening and rubbed
firmly into the bead of putty, rubbing along the edges and not applying
pressure to the centre of the pane, nor should the glass be slapped or
thumped into the putty.
Once pinned in with panel pins, the exterior rebate should be pointed by
applying a thick bead of putty all around and roughly shaped by hand, then
finished off with a putty knife, taking care in the corners not to cut into
the adjacent bead.

Another way of glazing windows is by using silicone and wooden beads, these
are excellent if installed correctly but they rarely are, the correct way is
to apply a bead of silicone to the rebate and glaze as above, then apply
another bead to the edges of the glass and nail in the wooden beads, but
more often than not, people apply this second bead to the timber and stick
the bead down into it - this leaves a slight gap between glass and bead that
fills up with water that is trapped there because of the silicone under the
bead, resulting in rotted bead and/or frame within a very short time.

People do it this way because it's quicker and you don't end up with any
silicone on the glass, but it's a bodge IMV and I would rather spend a few
hours the following day cutting silicone away from the frames and know I'd
done a good job, than do half a job badly.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008