11. DAB FLUX ONTO THE LEAD AND ZINC JOINTS
Flux allows the solder to stick to the lead and zinc. Wherever the
ends of the lead came or zinc come together, use a brush to dab
the joint with a liberal amount of flux. Flux generously; you can
clean off the excess later.
12. SOLDER THE WINDOW
12a. Plug in your soldering iron. It should be hot enough to melt
the solder, but not the lead came. You can test this with some lead
scraps. Hold the solder above the area you want to join. Gently lay
the flat end of the soldering iron tip on top of the solder and move
in a slight circular motion.
12b. As the solder melts, pull the iron away and the solder should
bead nicely above the joint. The key is to work it as little and as
gently as possible, and to flux it well anywhere you want solder to
be. You can always use the iron to smooth out a larger blob of solder
and use the corners of the iron to tap it into a corner. Be careful,
however, to avoid hitting the glass with the iron and breaking it.
12c. Continue to solder all the joints where lead and/or zinc meet. Don’t remove the nails that hold the
window together until you’ve soldered all the joints between the lead and the zinc frame. Once one whole side
is soldered, remove the remaining flux with a cloth, flip the panel over, then flux and solder the other side.
13. CLEAN THE WINDOW AND BURNISH THE LEAD
Remove the remaining marker, flux, and residue with glass cleaner
and a cotton cloth. You can also buy a cement mixture at stained
glass supply stores that can be used to fill in any spaces between
the glass and lead. If you choose to cement your window, this mixture will also clean the glass and burnish the lead.
To give the lead an aged look, burnish it with a bench brush.
Light, rapid brushing of the lead and solder joints will make
them fade to a darker gray and look less shiny. Enjoy your
beautiful stained glass window!
FINISH X
