Looking for guidance on maintaining external wood windows (with beading)

[DIYNotIan]

Hi all

I am in the process of sprucing up my wooden windows. I've removed the old sealant, sanded them down, repaired, and tomorrow I start on the painting...

What I'm not so sure about is how best to tackle the sealing (of the glass to the beading). I've been looking on youtube and most of the videos there show you how to use putty, and I don't think that would work with my windows. Those seem to be windows that have thin frames and no beading, and the putty forms a beading (and seal) of sorts. I'm sure there are technical terms for all these things but it's all pretty new to me!

I can't find info on how to tackle the kind of windows I have, and I think part of the problem is I don't know the key terms and so cannot search properly. I'm sure there's a lot of relevant info out there, I just can't seem to find it.

So any helpful pointers to get me on my way would be much appreciated. Direct advice or just some basic info so I know what to look for would be great.

Cheers

Max

 

[ronniecabers]

I wouldn't use putty either. tends to crack and let in water. You could use Hodgson flexistrip , which is a bit like putty but doesn't dry out. you would run a strip around the face of the rebate the sealed unit fits to, the pack your sealed unit correctly , then another strip of flexistrip to the sealed unit where the beading meets the glass , but before putting the beading on, if you don't have packers or a overhang on the bottom bead , you would be better to fill arounfd the sealed unit with Low modulus clear silicone, thus creating a barrier to the sealed unit that water can;t get to. Some will say just silicone them in , but a lot of sealed unit manufacturers won't honour any warranty that way, wityhout the use of glazing tape

 

[DIYNotIan]

Hi there

Many thanks for the response. Sorry if I wasn't clear above, but the glazing and beading is already in place and I don't plan on removing the beading. I've just removed the old silicone and sanded ready for a repaint.

So at this stage I'm still looking into my options. I know one would be to use a clear silicone AFTER painting, and I do much prefer the idea of clear silicone as I like it to be as inconspicuous as possible when looking out from inside the house (i.e. when you see the "back" of the silicone bead). Do you - or anyone else - have any recommendation for which silicone would be best and/or clearest? I have heard some people say that it attracts dirt and soon starts to look bad....

How much overlap should I be aiming for if/when siliconing (i.e. how much silicone on the wood and glass)?

Also, when I removed the old silicone, I think I sometimes removed small amounts of the butyl as well. It was brown and rubbery, but not sticky. Is that a problem at all? Or will the silicone make up for that when I apply it?

Huge thanks

 

[geraldthehamster]

Low modulus clear silicone

Make sure it's also neutral cure if it's in contact with double glazed units, as the acetic acid variety eats the seal. I took this with a pinch of salt until a friend managed to blow some units that way, that he'd fitted to wooden frames.

Cheers
Richard