Removing putty

secretivegoblin, Mar 7, 2:53pm
Hey all I need to remove the putty around the glass in my front door as I am going to repaint it. Is there an easy way to do this without breaking the glass please!
timbo69, Mar 7, 5:44pm
Not really!
aragorn2003, Mar 7, 5:50pm
You can try and use a chisel , but if its not crumbly enough best to call a glazier
budgel, Mar 7, 7:04pm
Judicious use of a heat gun can soften the putty a lot.
mrfxit, Mar 7, 7:56pm
HUH, not making much sense there, why not paint the putty.
Is it badly cracked, if yes then you can often chisel the old stuff out but don't be surprised if the glass does crack .
It's NOT an easy job & needs a lot of VERY steady gentle hand/hammer/ chisel control
aprilguy, Mar 7, 8:13pm
When my window putty was too cracked to repaint or repair, I used a heat gun to soften it and a piece of flat galvanised iron to shield the glass as I went around. I did it a little at a time. Once I had softened 10cm or so, I dug it out with a knife or chisel. No cracks in the glass and I did several windows.
jeron, Mar 7, 9:56pm
I found that that selleys (I think it was) paint stripper brushed on putty and left a while makes it soft and easy to remove. Pity at the time I didn't want to replace the putty.
secretivegoblin, Mar 8, 7:26am
Thanks all yes the putty needs to be removed as it is all cracked and bits are missing so cannot just paint over it. Sorry I didn't mention this earlier.
singing1, Mar 8, 11:52am
Sharpen the edge of a chisel.and use a hammer and tap the chisel along sideways and the sharp edge/side will hack all that putty away. Strangle the hammer up near the head so you just tap lightly and dont let the tip of the chisel touch the glass. With a little practice you will have your windows hacked out.
mrfxit, Mar 8, 12:23pm
LOL yep thats the trick . BIG hammer = gentle taps.
Beware of cutting in to the timber frame grain
mozzie46, Apr 10, 3:00am
Heat guns are not so great. If you end up cracking the windows because they are older they will not be covered by insurance. This applies in most cases for windows especially as a lot of older windows only have 3mm glass in them and they are not compliant with glazing standards today.