Putty or Patina First?

by Jack Hegarty
(Penville On. Canada)

Hello, I have just finished making four leaded windows for our new kithen cabinets. The windows are constructed using lead caming soldered at the joints with twelve lites per panel. I have purchased premixed dark coloured glazing putty and a black patina chemical. I am unsure if I should apply the patina before the putty or the putty first.

Thanks Jack

Answer
Hi Jack,

You need to putty first. Be careful of what putty you use. You don't want a commercial putty for glazing windows. It forms a skin so it can be painted over and never really dries. Make sure you have a putty for stained glass, and one that does not have cement or plaster of paris as an ingredient. If you are going to be making a lot of leaded windows, it would be wise to buy the ingredients to make your own. The ingredients and how to make it is on the putty page.

Also, make sure your patina is for lead, not solder. Just brushing the panel with a natural bristle brush is enough to darken the lead very nicely. A tampico brush is natural bristle and can be purchased at most discount (WalMart type) and grocery stores.

After you putty, pick and clean up the window, let it sit for a couple of days before you brush or apply patina. Give the putty a chance to dry out a bit. If it hasn't done so, you will be squeezing putty out of the lead as you work on the window. Then you'll have to pick and clean up again, as well as having lost a fair amount of putty.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Sue