Replies

1. 
   Chris_Hull | Mar 11, 2001 11:53pm | #1

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   Good name Chris! The glazing material in your elevator doors is apt to contain asbestos and linseed oil. No matter how you end up removing it,I would strongly recommend that you wear,at least,a particle mask and better yet, a canister style mask available at most auto parts stores, and eye protection.In compound that old, there probably won't be much volitile ingrediant left but ventilate well just in case. You might stand between the door and a box or pedistal fan to carry off any fumes generated. As to heat source, I would be inclined to use a propane torch with a pencil tip to concentrate the flame on the compound and avoid damage to the frame. Unfortunately,heat only works if there is some vestage of the oil left in the compound. If the oil has evaporated out,you will need to resort to percussion. Use a hammer and a couple of beater chisels [second hand stores are an exellant sorce of these]to hack out the frames. Try placing a wide chisel, 1 1/4" or so,held in your left hand, perpendicular to the glass surface,and parallel to the frame surface to be cleaned. Now,strike the edge of the chisel smartly as close to the edge of frame as possible. If you strike through the target,karate board breaking style, you tend to dislodge larger chunks than if you death grip the chisel tight against the putty. Scrape residue off with sharp end of a 1/2"chisel. At this point you may still need to hammer the glass out,but if you lay the frame face down ,on a drop cloth, and tap along the edges with a block,the mess should be controlable. If you don't trust your puttying skills,you might cosider making glass stops out of brass to compliment the finish on your doors.Many shapes [sq tube,sq bar, 1/4 rd bar,and various angle sizes]can be found at larger hobby shops,homecenters,or metal shops. these could be drilled,tapped,and screwed on or even hot glued as you are not likely to need to remove them again. Wow! Sorry to run on so.I hope this is of some help. Chris on the Oregon coast.

1. 
   mark_holbrook | Mar 12, 2001 02:44am | #2

   *The putty may contain lead, but I doubt there is any asbestos in it. I can't imagine any property that it would contribute. Pretty much Chris is right on, but you can try a router and a straight cutting carbide bit. You might have to construct a guide because control is difficult. A die grinder with a carbide or diamond burr will work too. A propane torch will remove the putty whether or not the oil is completely dried up - but the fumes are strong, and may contain lead. I was a glazier for a while. We called these jobs "chip chips". And they were unliked by all!

1. 
   calvin_ | Mar 12, 2001 02:58am | #3

   *You might try the Fein detail sander with one of their scraper tools. Amazing tool with good control.

2. 
   Chris_Koehn | Mar 12, 2001 02:58am | #4

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   I have four 100 year old elevator doors that came from an historic department store. They are 1/8" brass sheathing and brass filligris over cast iron- heavy as heck (300 lbs each) and beautiful. They have three lites of 1/4" chicken wire glass in them which I would like to replace with non-chicken wire tempered glass. I think the glazing putty is original to the doors and it's tenacious as heck. Some of it looks like glazing putty; some of it looks like dark brown construction adhesive. I've tried removing a piece of glass (most are cracked already) and ended up breaking it in to millions of little bits, creating a rather undesirable condition in my shop. I tried a heat gun on the stuff- no effect. What is this stuff? When will I get cancer from heating it up? and how do I get it off?? Thanks!