Cleaning wood preserver off glass

[Philthy]

Specifically Cuprinol Garden Wood Preserver (Red Cedar)

Product was applied two years ago to a structure and dripped over some windows, then dried. Just wondering how best to clean it off

[bearded bloke]

It's an emulsified wax based coating so is not reversible with a solvent, I which case the best tool to use is .... Stanley Window Scraper Glass Surface Scrapers With Removable Blade 0 28 590 | eBay


N.B probably available at your nearest DIY/hardware shop for the same price but the picture is easier to post than the description

[Potstubsdustbins]

Spot on BB I have one and there isn't much it won't get of glass or flat ceramics.

[bearded bloke]

Mine's a red one potty, they were really new when I was an apprentice Jack (my old tradesman) had a metal one that took blades from a "safety razor", he also used a "cut throat" razor to trim wallpaper into awkward places but he was a nutter of the old school

[Potstubsdustbins]

Real TRADESMAN, never thought of that one and I have a ............cut throat

[Philthy]

Thanks for the advice, guys.
I can see a tedious, time consuming job coming up (forgot to mention windows are leaded and there's a few of them)

[bearded bloke]

Ahhh, in that case you could be better off getting some fine or medium wire wool & a bottle of white spirit to use as a lubricant, wet the wire wool with the spirit & work on small circles being careful not to rub the lead (or you will get a shiny bit ) remember to keep it well lubricated though or you might get scratch marks.

[Potstubsdustbins]

It really does depend on what sort of leaded lights they are.

If they are original i.e. the glass is trapped in a lead channel I would agree with BB above. You have to know what you are doing with those and if you make a mistake damage the lead, break a joint etc it would cost a lot of money to get some one like me to come and fix them.

If they are the modern version i.e. plain float glass with a lead strip stuck on to give the appearance of leaded lights and its a large area you may want to think about removing the lead strip and replacing it with new when you have finished the clean up.

[bearded bloke]

Ohh, good point about the stick-on lead strip potty (they never had that when I was apprentice only the channel stuff), well spotted if it is that type then the white spirit may well soften/kill the adhesive

On the firm I worked for it was the decorators who repaired the leaded lights

[Potstubsdustbins]

When I started back in Jan 62 it was the plumbers round this way who did all the glazing, no such thing as window companies back then

[Philthy]

Without checking I couldn't say for sure, but they are modern windows - 15 years old 'ish - and fairly standard looking, so perhaps it'll be a blade cleanup afterall.

Potty, if the lead strips are just stuck on for effect, should they peel off easily enough i.e. without cracking the pane (glass is quite thin), and where could I buy replacements lengths?

I'll find out for sure what I'm working with........

[Potstubsdustbins]

Its easy to tell one from the other.

First clue is the age, proper leaded lights would have cost a small fortune to have specially made 15 years ago and I mean a small lottery win!!

Second is some of them only have the lead strip on the outside.

Third even if the have lead both sides because it is stuck onto the glass you can look from the side and see through the glass between the lead strips.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Its easy to tell one from the other.

First clue is the age, proper leaded lights would have cost a small fortune to have specially made 15 years ago and I mean a small lottery win!!

Second is some of them only have the lead strip on the outside.

Third even if the have lead both sides because it is stuck onto the glass you can look from the side and see through the glass between the lead strips. I presume it's single glaze here.

If it's double glazed it is certainly stuck on. A thin blade between the glass and lead strip will break the bond and then it should peal off.

The glass may look thin but 15 years back most would be 4mm thick at least and glass in a

Google 'self adhesive lead strip for windows' less than a pound a metre from e-bay.

[Philthy]

The affected windows (8 in total):



Shown is same window from both sides (piece of board is just to improve clarity of photo).

[Potstubsdustbins]

Yep that's stuck on beading.

If you look where the two pieces cross you can see how one has been carefully moulded over the other. In real leaded lights that would be a soldered joint.