Tips for cleaning old stained glass?

Got this to do later in the week on a converted chapel.

Should i WFP it or trad it?

It has one small broken piece in it but otherwise is reasonably good condition..

I think @Pjj recently did similar. Perhaps he can help

cloudnine said:

Got this to do later in the week on a converted chapel.

Should i WFP it or trad it?

It has one small broken piece in it but otherwise is reasonably good condition..

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Flocked brush, gentle passes of the brush and turn your water down as these old windows have a tendency to leak.

Good luck 

Very much depends on the lead more than the glass on the old windows. What @steve garwoodsays, barely touch it with a flocked brush and low water pressure. 

Just give it a quick rinse off and say you cleaned it 

We recently did a church that had been converted into 10 flats , I used a stiff supream brush and was gentle cleaning it surprisingly it didn’t leak a single drop and the lead was rock solid didn’t move a bit I was very suprised , also used hot water , as far as anyone knew it had never been cleaned , the water running down the walls was black ,it was a horrendous day weather wise but the job had to be done due to the job having to be signed off by the builders and handed over to the management company , the pictures don’t do it justice due to the very dull and wet day 

steve garwood said:

Flocked brush, gentle passes of the brush and turn your water down as these old windows have a tendency to leak.

Good luck 

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I would definitely wfp it , the ones we have done have always been fine just go gently to start with you will soon get a feel for it especially if it feels delicate , from the picture it’s very similar style to the ones we did they were rock solid didn’t move I cleaned it with normal flow very hot water , and a reasonable pressure scrubbing I think that these wi Dow’s are generaly a lot more robust than they look , we have now been deamed a specialist cleaning company by the builders ???and they now want us to go all over the country doing similar work for them lol , I have to say it’s not a difficult job for any experienced wfp er just go careful untill you get a feel for how strong it is good luck with the job and charge well 

I wonder what would be the outcome if one put the brush through the window? Those windows could be hundreds of years old and I don't fancy getting billed for it.

scottish cleaning service said:

I wonder what would be the outcome if one put the brush through the window? Those windows could be hundreds of years old and I don't fancy getting billed for it.

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They cost thousands to repair one of my customers makes stained glass windows and repairs them for English heratage , national trust etc , it’s very slow time consuming work , he is self employed and makes a very good living at it 

Pjj said:

They cost thousands to repair one of my customers makes stained glass windows and repairs them for English heratage , national trust etc , it’s very slow time consuming work , he is self employed and makes a very good living at it 

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I would only clean them if I had a damage waiver on them. Sometimes they are just waiting to fall out because the lead has perished. There is a lifespan on lead a roofer pointed out to me.