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Nudge Up Your Property Value
First impressions make a big difference, and selling your home is no exception. Sometimes big repairs and major renovations just aren't in the budget, but when it comes time to sell your home, you naturally want to get the best price possible. There...
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How To Repair A Leaded Glass Panel
We recently repaired and replaced a leaded glass panel. If you
want to view the photos that we took for the article, you can
see them at
www.betterstainedglass.com/newsletter/archives/2005-june-leadrepa
ir/june2005leadrepair.htm
1. A client called and asked us to repair a window in their
home. The window had a broken piece of glass and we would need
to take it from their home, repair it at our shop and reinstall
it in their entryway. 2. The window frame had been assembled
with 45 degree miters in the wood, which required that the nails
be removed in order to get the wood out. Fortunately, the nails
used were very thin pin nails, similar to a staple in size, so I
was able to break the fasteners with a sharp rap on a putty
knife at each nail. 3. Once all the pin nails were cut, I was
able to carefully remove the wood from the frame work. 4. The
leaded panel was very tight in the framework, which is rare, and
I had to gently work the panel loose so as not to break it. This
installation had one piece of tempered glass on the outside of
the door frame and then the art glass. In our studio we insulate
window units so that there is tempered glass on each side of the
art glass. 5. Because the tempered glass was still in place, I
simply replaced the wood pieces back in the frame till the
reinstall took place. Normally we put a piece of cardboard or
plastic in the opening while it awaits replacement. 6. When I
got the panel back to our studio, I first traced the outline of
the panel. I knew that since this window was so tight, I had to
be absolutely sure that it didn't grow on me in the repair
process. 7. I heated the joints of solder and, using pliers,
rocked the outer bar back and forth until the outside strip of
zinc came loose from the panel. 8. Using a razor blade knife, I
loosened the cement joint between the lead and the glass so that
I could remove the glass pieces. 9. Once the cement was loose
from the glass, I was able to de-solder the joints and work the
lead free from the glass. 10. Next, I applied clear tape to both
of the broken sides of the glass so that as I eased it out of
the panel, it would stay in one piece which I could use as a
pattern for the new replacement glass. 11. Once I had the cement
and glass loose from each other, I applied gentle pressure on
the glass and spread it apart so it was easy to remove from the
panel. 12. I used the removed piece of glass as a template to
cut my replacement pieces. Since the glass was a close match,
but not quite perfect, I replaced both of the pieces so that
they both looked the same. Your eye would notice the difference
if only one of the pieces was replaced, but couldn't see the
small difference since both were replaced. 13. Next, I
nailed
down the panel on the pattern I traced earlier, so I could make
sure the window stayed the right size. 14. Then I slid both of
the replacement pieces of glass into the lead came. 15. I tapped
them into place tightly using gentle pressure from a glass
hammer. 16. Then I nailed the outside lead, in place making sure
that the glass was tight and inside the lines of the pattern.
17. Up until this step, the techniques I used are those that
both a copper foil artist and a lead artist would use. From this
point on, I focused on copper foil methods. I placed a strip of
copper foil along the bottom of the panel, so there would be
something to solder to. We might have used lead came but the
came we had in stock didn't match the original lead. 18. I
foiled the bottom three beveled pieces with copper foil, getting
ready for soldering the panel. 19. I cut a piece of zinc to fit
the panel and nailed it in place, making sure that the panel
still fit inside the penciled in pattern. 20. I carefully
soldered the joints at the bottom of the panel, using care to
only heat the lead that was being attached just enough to solder
to, trying to avoid melting the came. 21. When the solder lines
were complete, they were a little too shiny to match the
original window, so I cleaned it with an ammonia based cleaner
which darkened it and then added a dilute black patina to knock
the color down. 22. After polishing and waxing the window, it
matched the original pretty well. 23. When we went back to the
home for the install, my wife, Jeanne wiped the window down for
a final cleaning to get rid of any dust and smudges. 24. I
removed the molding that was in temporarily and a couple of
nails from the frame work. Then I followed Jeanne's example and
polished the inside of the tempered glass to get rid of any dust
that might have collected. 25. I used my putty knife as a lever
to center the window in the opening. 26. Then I applied a small
bead of silicone caulk around the entire framework. 27. I gently
tapped the wood back in place. 28. Then, since I wasn't going to
nail the trim back in place, I forced a stick in the opening
between the molding so that they'd be held tightly while the
silicon dried. The silicon will form a good enough bond to hold
both the window and the molding in place.
Just a few simple steps later, we had the job done with very
satisfactory results.
About the author:
David Gomm started building stained glass windows professionally
back in 1983 and has become an expert at many aspects of stained
glass building, design and repair. He writes a monthly
newsletter at www.betterstainedglass.com
He also has a website with many other articles at
www.gommstudios.com
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