Cleaning original stained glass leaded windows

Polleyanna

Hi wonder if anyone could offer some advice on what is the best product/concoction (we were wondering vinegar?) to clean the original leaded stained glass windows in our recently purchased 1930s home. They are being encapsulated in to new windows so the glass and the lead needs a really good clean because once they are encapsulated I wont be able to get at them.

thanks

myrnahaz

Just use vinegar and water or an ordinary liquid glass cleaner (not cream cleaners like windolene) on the glass, but be aware that you have loads and loads of 'corners', so you'll have to be really careful to avoid smears. Use dusters that haven't been rinsed in fabric softener as FS causes smears.
If you need to darken the putty under the lead itself, the old leadlight makers used to use black shoe polish (I used to work in a glass merchant's and the boss was a leadlight maker) just use a small amount and buff with a dry cloth - but make sure you do this before you clean the glass.
Don't press too hard while you're cleaning because the lead will bend under pressure, which will make the leadlight look wobbly.
PS - try cleaning a small pane first - most coloured glass used in residential windows is coloured during production, so it's 'fixed', but the panes that have more intricate detail (flowers, faces etc) uses a type of transfer or paint which will rub off if you use anything too harsh.