Reglazing French Doors

What Reglazing Entails

• Reglazing is the process of removing the old, hardened putty from the edges of the windowpanes, taking out the panes, cleaning and repairing the frames and then reinstalling the glass. Reglazing a single pane in a French door won’t take much time, but it’s often wise to reglaze all the panes at the same time if the glazing compound is beginning to deteriorate.

Tools and Materials

• A stiff putty knife or glazier’s tool, which is similar to a putty knife, is essential for scraping off old putty. You'll need glaziers’ points and new glazing compound. If you find the old putty hard to remove, a hot blast from a handheld hairdryer on its hottest setting can soften it up. You’ll also need sandpaper and primer to prep the frames before reinstalling the glass panes.

Remove Old Glazing

• Removing the door from its hinges and placing it between two sawhorses will make it easier to reach the panes and the frames. Use the edge of the putty knife to scrape away the old putty that’s holding a pane in place. Once the surface putty is off, find the old glazier’s points, which are tiny metal shards inserted into the wood at the edge of the panes. Carefully pry the points out with the edge of the putty knife. Since glazing compound is on both sides of the pane, after you lift the glass out, you’ll have to scrape away the compound beneath it.

Repair and Replace

• Sand the wood frame and brush on a thin coat of primer and let it dry. Glaziers’ putty is thick, clay-like, and easy to apply when rolled out into soft “ropes” and placed along the frame's edge. After setting the pane in the putty "bed," you’ll install new glaziers’ points, using the putty knife blade to push them into the wood frame. Apply another thin rope of glaziers' putty to the inside edges of the pane and smooth it uniformly with a putty knife.

Best Practices

• Old glass panes can break during removal, no matter how careful you are. To keep the glass from falling and shattering, make an “X” with masking tape on both sides of the pane before you start scraping off the old glazing compound. Don’t use your finger to smooth the new glazing compound around the panes to keep from cutting your finger on the edge of the pane.