profdant139
Jul 13, 2017Explorer II
Mfr used plumber's putty on window -- do I need butyl?
I just removed the front window on my trailer (cracked due to thermal stress) and took it to my local glass shop. They replaced the glass with tinted tempered glass, custom cut, for $135 -- that seems like a great price!
So now I am getting ready to reinstall. I asked the glass guy how to remove the butyl around the window frame. He looked at me funny and said, "That's not butyl. It's plumber's putty. Easy to remove with a putty knife and mineral spirits." (Obviously, I am not an expert.)
He said that he often uses putty to reinstall RV windows and said it is easier than butyl tape.
So I am confused. I thought that butyl tape was the only way to go with an RV window. But the manufacturer clearly used putty, and the window had no leaks at all. Plus, it was quite an effort to pop the window out of the hole after taking off the inner frame -- I had to make a little curved putty knife out of a scrap of steel in order to free the outer frame.
So that is my question -- should I use butyl tape, or just stick with what I know has worked on this window? The surface to which the frame will be mounted is smooth fiberglass, not wavy aluminum like my last trailer.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts! I am putty in your hands. (Not really, but I had to use that line.)
So now I am getting ready to reinstall. I asked the glass guy how to remove the butyl around the window frame. He looked at me funny and said, "That's not butyl. It's plumber's putty. Easy to remove with a putty knife and mineral spirits." (Obviously, I am not an expert.)
He said that he often uses putty to reinstall RV windows and said it is easier than butyl tape.
So I am confused. I thought that butyl tape was the only way to go with an RV window. But the manufacturer clearly used putty, and the window had no leaks at all. Plus, it was quite an effort to pop the window out of the hole after taking off the inner frame -- I had to make a little curved putty knife out of a scrap of steel in order to free the outer frame.
So that is my question -- should I use butyl tape, or just stick with what I know has worked on this window? The surface to which the frame will be mounted is smooth fiberglass, not wavy aluminum like my last trailer.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts! I am putty in your hands. (Not really, but I had to use that line.)