Best Putty Knife For Window Glazing

It is stiffer than your average knife it has almost no flex to it.

Best putty knife for window glazing.

It is relatively easy to use not too oily or too dry and tools to a nice smooth finish. The traditional putty knife has a stiff blade but as young explained those are for removing window glazing as well as putting glazing in but you can do that with a flexible blade too. This is the most common glazing putty that professional window restorers use and it s what my shop uses about 90 of the time. The bedding went on smoothly and the glazing was easily packed into the rabbet and cut smooth with a standard putty knife.

Oil based putty is easier to work with when it s warm. They will fix the glass while you apply glazing putty to the outside. The angle is helpful especially at awkward positions when you have to leave the sash installed. When the glass is fully in place insert the glass points on the outside of the glass.

I seem to prefer it over a regular putty knife that s straight and somewhat flexible. They should not show above the outside of the glazing putty. I rely on a very stiff 1 5 putty knife to tool putty and a soft thick paintbrush to dust off the glass with dry powder whiting. This so far has been great for applying and smoothing out window glazing putty.

The putty is also fast to skin over which means it is ready for paint in most conditions in as quick as 3 4 days. Use your putty knife for this. Dip a putty knife in mineral spirits to lubricate it and smooth out the compound. One pass down the rabbet with the handle held parallel to the glass as opposed to holding the knife perpendicular to the glass yielded an impressively clean and smooth cut.

To complete the job smooth out the new glazing compound. Wet the knife again and run over the compound as many times as it takes to create a smooth surface.