Window Sash Deglazing, Steam Box & Infra-red Lamp
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
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Window Sash Deglazing, Steam Box & Infra-red Lamp
The sash is placed in a box that is filled with steam. The steam softens the old putty and paint so it is easier to remove. An infra-red heat lamp is used to soften interior paint so it can be scraped off down to bare wood.
--19 minutes direct labor to remove the glass and all of the old paint and putty
-- Pull-type scraper quickly removes the old front putty and points
-- Narrow crack tool quickly removes putty at edge of glass pane
-- Glass panes loosened with finger tips and taken out with no breakage
-- Paint removed from exterior face of stiles and rails with pull-type scraper
-- Infra-red heat lamp used to soften and remove remaining interior paint
-- Profile scraper removes paint from profile with one or two strokes
-- Result: wood sash cleaned off down to bare wood, ready for next step in Complete Refurbish procedure
For questions and comments on this method:
saveamericaswin...
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Great video John!
Tate, thanks, do you work on windows?
You have it down to a science, John! Really impressive how fast it can be done using your methods. I built a steam box out of that foil lined foam board and it worked great and kept the heat loss to a minimum. I'll have to build another, though as I kept it outside and it decided to do some aerobatics during a storm. I didn't have a frame around mine. Nice work, it's always good to see a post from you. Thank you.
+blmeflmm66, You are welcome. Best of success with your window work. I can see you're on the right track.
Fantastic videos John! I need to refurbish 25 sash and case windows and your videos have been invaluable.
+radlyspain, Thanks! Keep us posted on your progress. For more info on window work see: www.SaveAmericasWindows.com
Some times when he explains certain aspects .....
2:35 - thermometer measuring temperature inside.
3:30 - open box carefully and remove sash
Mike, thanks for your comment.
Tried to register on your bb and it kept telling me the answer to the question was wrong. Assumed it was close to the title of the board. I'll try again tomorrow, I guess. Anyway an idea to get more work time that seemed to help for me was using the foam board on the bench top and another piece to cover the areas of the window I wasn't working on. Simply slide it along as you. Kept me from have to re-steam almost every time. I haven't tried the IR paint removers yet. Though the steam works pretty well on its own.
Been using my Jiffy Steamer outdoors lately to strip paint using your ideas and I have an observation that might help someone - probably you know this already but it took me a few days to realize that lead paint crumbs were getting into the steam hose from the end while scraping and from there dropping down into the water tank of the Jiffy Steamer. As soon as it occurred to me this might be happening I removed the hose and emptied the water out of the Jiffy Steamer and sure enough there were flakes of lead paint (maybe a quarter of a teaspoon) . So I flushed the tank a few times and also cleaned the inside of the steam hose and will be more careful from now on about letting paint flakes get into the hose. Not sure if the lead would aerosolize in the steam if it was in the water but don't want to experiment on myself - luckily I wasn't doing this indoors Hope that helps..
A good idea. It's always good to keep all of your tools, equipment, surroundings, clothes and body very clean--just a basic part of lead-safe work practice.
Love the video!! Couldn’t I just throw it back into the steamer if I don’t have a heat gun/lamp or would that introduce too much vapor into the wood?
lf you steam the bare wood again it softens the wood and will "thread out" if you scrape it. To steam again, first let the wood dry out for a day or two, then do not scrape where the wood is bare.
While scraping some 90 year old sash yesterday I made an accidental discovery that might help someone. After scraping I still had a very thin residue of the original lead paint that was soaked into the pores of the wood grain and very difficult to scrape away. I mixed up a strong solution of Trisodium Phosphate "TSP" (about 1/8th cup or two tablespoons TSP powder to 3 cups of water) and painted the solution onto the wood. I was surprised to find within 20 seconds or so it softened the paint residue and made it very easy to remove with a light final scraping or even a paper towel. I was applying the TSP to try and convert the lead carbonate in the paint residue to a lead phosphate that is supposed to be a safer (less bioavailable) form of lead; so the fact that it helped remove the final traces of paint was an unexpected positive side effect. The paintbrush does get contaminated with the loosened paint though - I need to find a way to apply the TSP without dipping the brush into the solution - maybe a squeegee or by pouring. A pump sprayer could work but I don't think it would be safe to spray or aerosolize such a strong solution of TSP - the tiny droplets could get in eyes and lungs.
That's interesting about converting the lead carbonate to lead phosphate, but I'd want to test it to assure the conversion. Tests have demonstrated that with any wet chemical method some of the residue is driven further into the wood. Heating the paint with infrared lamp and scraping with hook-scraper leaves the least lead in the wood.
I don't know of a test method that would discriminate lead phosphate from carbonate; I believe the 3M $10 Home Depot kits would register positive for both compounds. All lead compounds look to be toxic or carcinogenic but just as you are I'm trying to balance reduction of risk and saving the old growth wood and workmanship in these windows. Here is a cut and paste of the wiki for lead phosphate (I don't know what form of phosphate "POx" is referring to in the wiki or at what termperature it decomposes): Lead(II) phosphate is an ionic compound with chemical formula Pb3(PO4)2. Lead(II) phosphate is a long-lived electronically neutral reagent chemical. Despite limited tests on humans, it has been identified as a carcinogen based on tests on animals conducted by the EPA. Lead(II) phosphate appears as hexagonal, colorless crystals or as a white powder. Lead(II) phosphate is insoluble in water and alcohol but soluble in HNO3 and has fixed alkali hydroxides. When lead(II) phosphate is heated for decomposition it emits very toxic fumes containing Pb and POx.
so satisfying.
Thankss John. I'll be making my steam box this month. I think I'm going to make two steam ports and have two steamers running to speed the process.
more on steam box building and deglazing:
historichomeworks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=481
john could you recomend a steam generator or a place to purchase one. any plans for these hot boxes thank you
...also, do you worry about the glass getting hot and breaking when you use the infrared heater?
+Laurie Jo, In this video the glass is already out when I am using the infrared heat lamp. If using the heat lamp when the glass is in, I put pieces of aluminum sheet metal over the glass to protect it from the heat.
I recently started using a steam box powered by a jiffy steam generator to strip sashes. I was surprised how many panes are coming out cracked. Any thoughts on this issue?
Kevin, try deglazing on the bench:
th-cam.com/video/yyeXBzr-UnA/w-d-xo.html
Are you putting cold sash into the steam? If so, try warming them up before you put them in. What is the size of your panes? Sometimes larger panes are prone to cracking. This may be the case if the edges of the glass are tightly blocked into the glazing rabbets with thin strips of glass. If this is the case try a different deglazing method, such as infrared lamp.
When is the glass cracking? Where is it cracking? What is the pattern of the cracks? Send me photos showing the cracks and your steaming setup, send to johnleeke@historichomeworks.com
@@johnleeke I really appreciate your feedback. I will follow up later directly by email.
wouldn't it be better to have the wood frame internal to the box, which would also keep the window out of the condensation?
The wood frame might then warp, stressing the foam-board joints resulting in leaking steam. To keep the sash out of condensation you could simply put a couple of strips of wood across the bottom of the box to keep the sash up off the bottom. But, I must say, this has not been a problem with the two or three thousand sashes I have put through this vertical steam box.
@@johnleeke ah, interesting thank you. I'm a carpenter so I think I can solve that problem. I figured by building the frame I could also build in a separation to do 2 at once. I have 18 100 yo sashes to do on old house restoration (and accompaning frame rebuild).
I have purchased your book.
Have you ever tried weatherstripping old sashes with qlon or something from Resource Conservation?
@@charlesf9065, a separation is an interesting idea. While one sash is steaming you could pull out the other, without letting out all the steam. I may give this a try myself.
Thanks for getting the book.
I use half a dozen different weatherstrippings, choice depending on the construction details of the window and the needs of the occupants.
@@johnleeke have you had any luck retrofitting modern weatherstripping? I've done it in sashes I've built, but never tried in an old sash
Why did you go infared heat lamp after getting the glass out? Why not back into the steam box?
The combination of steam and infra-red saves time.
If you put the sash back into the steam box right away the wood will get overloaded with water, which makes the wood soft and susceptible to damage when scraping. If you want to put the sash back in the steam, wait a day for the wood to dry out, and be careful to not scrap bare wood that has been steamed.
When using the infra-red lamp the wood is dried out and immediately ready for the next steps of final cleanup and woodwork repairs.
For more on this method join the discussion: saveamericaswindows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5199
Will a hair dryer work to soften and remove old and cracked glazing compound?
No. Hair dryers get up to only 90F., you need at least 200-300F. to soften the paint and putty.
thanks for your informative reply.
Hi John,
Is that a speed heater or silent paint remover, or something else? Do you have a recommendation for infrared heaters?
Thanks
That is a SpeedHeater.
could you off just placed it back into the steam box? Thank you
The combination of steam and infra-red saves time.
If you put the sash back into the steam box right away the wood will get overloaded with water, which makes the wood soft and susceptible to damage when scraping. If you want to put the sash back in the steam, wait a day for the wood to dry out, and be careful to not scrap bare wood that has been steamed.
When using the infra-red lamp the wood is dried out and immediately ready for the next steps of final cleanup and woodwork repairs.
For more on this method join the discussion: saveamericaswindows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5199
Great video! Where do you buy those scrapers and who makes them? Thanks, laurie
+Laurie Jo, More on this method over at the Save America's Windows Forum:
saveamericaswindows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5199
including a source for the basic scraper. The profile scraper and crack tool are custom made, and I'm currently working on a video that shows how to make them.
Where do you get your scrapers? And where do you get that one for the crack between the edge of the glass and the window frame?
Scraper sources over at the Save America's Windows Forum:
saveamericaswindows.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5226
I make the crack tool by shaping a linoleum knife on the bench grinder.
New replacement window is pieces of trash.
+Vahakn Arslanian, I agree, replacement windows, are not real windows. These window and glass corporations do not make windows, they only make money, by manufacturing "window-shaped objects," and selling them to unsuspecting homeowners by tricking them into thinking they are getting real windows.
+John Leeke LOL "window shaped objects". Love that!