Windows - replacing putty with beading?

[doodle]

Hi All,

I've got a couple of old french doors on the house and the putty around the outside is well gone - a lot of it cracked, and missing large chunks. I obviously need to replace this, but was after some opinions on whether its best just to replace the putty, or can I fix some timber beading instead and seal with some silicone? Time is an issue for me (going OS in the next month) and I've heard that you should leave putty for 6 weeks before painting(?).

Many thanks!

Doodle

[commoo]

Timber beading would be easier and would look better than the putty.
And you can pain straight over it.
If you were to seal the bead i would recommend no more gaps as this will seal and can be painted over where silicone would be harder to paint over as the paint doesn't bond well to silicone.

[SilentButDeadly]

Replace the putty. It's a work of moments (but quite a few!) and it'll last decades even if unpainted. Same cannot be said of beading.....

A putty knife and paitence is all you need (apart from the putty).

Be really careful pulling out the old putty. You'll find the glass is probably held in with tiny tin triangles lying underneath the putty. If you hit one of these hard (being too enthusiastic) then the old glass is fragile and it'll break. Use a small sharp box knife in a twisting motion and go slowly.