Glazing won't dry

[lionel762]

After working on the two main stories of our home's windows, we have finally made it to the basement windows. One window needed a new muntin and we had a local woodworker repair it for us. He also made a replica for another missing basement window. When I picked up the two windows, I was surprised to find that he had added glass and glazed. I noticed the glazing was still very soft and left them to dry in my garage. When the weather started to get colder, I moved them to the basement.

I figured Christmas break would be a good time to prime and paint them. However, the glazing is still extremely soft. It has been at least four months. You all have been extremely helpful with my other window questions so I'm hoping someone might have an answer for this one. Why isn't the glazing drying? Do I need to do something different? Is my basement too warm?

Thank you!

[phil]

I think there is a product made by DAP that is like that, never dries. some swear by the sarco brand, It is a linseed oil based putty. I'd put it somewhere warm like maybe on top of the hot water tank or near the furnace and let it sit if you can afford to wait, otherwise it means removing the putty and re doing the bedding. there is a bit of a knack to it. If you take a 1" putty knife and put about a 30 degree bend in it mid way through he blade it gives a better angle. I guess if you have trouble you can take it back or go find another glazier to do it. you might have to heat the blade up with a blowtorch to bend it since it will be springy steel it'll bend easy if you get it near red hot which is easy to do with any common blowtorch.
If he replaced the glass, it probably was not wavy glass so if you care about the heritage look you might source some old glass. You can see the wavy pattern from the street so it does matter to some, if it is wavy or flat glass.

[Gothichome]

Lionel, they is a powdered chalk product the professional restoration glazers use for both cleaning the oily film off the glass and helping with the drying of the putty. I believe it also is used as polishing agent to bring back the glitter of antique glass. I’m sure Jade will post a reply. I have heard for a small job, (you don’t need kilo’s of the stuff) you can throw a few pieces of side walk chalk and chop it up in a blender, or find another way to grind it into a talc like powder. You then just brush it on the glazing putty to aid in the drying.

[PaulJohnson]

I agree with both replies.
It was most likely glazed with DAP33. It takes forever to cure and dry.

I have used sarco and loved it. There are two types - one for in the shop and one for the window in place. Type M is for use in the shop. Both types are available on Amazon.

The chalk stuff is called whiting powder. It helps clean off the oil residue from the glazing and I found it gives an initial set of the glazing. Also available on Amazon.

If you are near Boston, I have some of both that you are welcome to use.

[lionel762]

Phil, unfortunately, they are not wavy glass. We don't have any original glass for these windows. Luckily these two windows do not get much attention from the road and visitors to the house due to their placement.

PaulJohnson, thank you for the offer! I have family that recently purchased an older home near Boston, but we're located in Kansas. I was wondering if it is probably a DAP product and just taking forever. We do have sarco glazing that we used on the 40+ windows we've already finished, and we loved it! Three years ago, we switched from glazol to sarco because of the comments here.

I'll keep checking back for more comments and see if Jade chips in advice. Thanks again for everyone who offers opinions and input. It is wonderful to get answers and ideas from people who value older homes and their craftsmanship. For now, I'll let them sit longer and place them near the furnace. Then I'll try the whiting powder that's been recommended. If all else fails, we'll redo them with sarco.

[phil]

Im not sure if this is completely accurate so take it with a grain of salt, but maybe the sarco is a bit more off white and the Dap stuff might be more snow white. Possibly it was sarco, but had a little too much linseed oil added , after all we can't really say what was used with any degree of confidence, with only the evidence we have. ( that it was slow to dry)

[GibsonGM]

I would suspect it's DAP, which has a lot of problems. "Pros" just won't use it...it's also a little toxic, for those who are interested.

Sarco is awesome, I've had nothing but great results from them. It is consistent as can be - it's up to the end user to knead it properly before use (which may be why the suspect DAP never cured - homeowner job, they didn't mix the putty well enough, or it was simply junk). I have 2 gallons of DAP out in the barn - as a painter, I used to touch up glazing sometimes. I'll never use it again due to the problem you describe, and it doesn't last, either.

I'll touch up exterior stuff with Sarco Type M, it'll last longer than the old stuff that is there - you just want to watch it for rapid drying, coat it w/paint soon. Wouldn't 'restore' a window out of the shop that way tho, unless I could cover it with a sheep for 5 days after glazing so the sun/heat doesn't screw up the drying process.

[phil]

I think Gibson mean to say sheet, not sheep

[heartwood]

i concur that it is most likely dap which typically takes 30 days or more to set up sufficiently
to paint...oil products cure a bit quicker with air flow...if you can set up a fan on low and have
the sash in a relatively warm environment, you should be able to paint in a week or so...

whiting, or calcium carbonate, is a main ingredient in putty....if you sprinkle some over the putty,
it will be absorbed by the oil...you want to be sure it's balanced though--too much may make the
putty too dry...

i personally use a small goat or large squirrel to cover the window opening.....

good luck...jade

[MJ1987]

i concur that it is most likely dap which typically takes 30 days or more to set up sufficiently
to paint...oil products cure a bit quicker with air flow...if you can set up a fan on low and have
the sash in a relatively warm environment, you should be able to paint in a week or so...

whiting, or calcium carbonate, is a main ingredient in putty....if you sprinkle some over the putty,
it will be absorbed by the oil...you want to be sure it's balanced though--too much may make the
putty too dry...

i personally use a small goat or large squirrel to cover the window opening.....

good luck...jade

Jade, I noticed that quite a few of my windows are starting to show issues. For some reason, the paint line over the glazing and just onto the glass has started to peel away. Water can now collect just under the edge of where the glazing meets the glass. I can include some pictures if you think it would be helpful. I used Sarco Type M. I did them all down in the basement. Let them cure for weeks and weeks and then painted with oil finish per the manufacturers recs. Any idea why this might be happening?

Regarding the original topic of this post, I had storm windows made and they used DAP33. Until I put them in full sun (during the summer) for several days, they didn't ever dry in the basement (they were down there for nearly 2 months!). However, I will say that once they cured, they took paint really well. I was very skeptical about the DAP33 but so far so good. Then again, I haven't installed the storms yet so only weather will prove whether the product is worthy....