- Spread more whiting on the panel and use a second clean bristle brush to clean off the excess cement. The whiting acts as a natural absorbent and mild abrasive which cleans and polishes the glass, came, and the solder. Scrub vigorously, but don’t press too hard or lean on the work. Work in a direction parallel to the cames so that you are removing the excess along the edges and not removing the cement you worked under the came!
SPECIAL NOTE: A You may want to add a small amount of saw dust to the whiting to keep the dust down to a minimum. You can use the whiting more than once, and also extend its life by adding fresh whiting from time to time. Store unused whiting in a covered plastic container.
- Continue scrubbing this side until the excess whiting is removed from the glass and the tops of the cames. You will notice that some cement will still be sticking to the edges of the came. Don’t let this trouble you, as it will be removed later.
- Important: At this point, if you have used came which is 3/8" wide or wider, gently press the leaf down close to the glass surface. A stopping knife or one of the many new style lathekins are ideal for this purpose. The leaf should be pressed down to a uniform height and should not appear lumpy or irregular. Be sure to clean the cement out of the outside of the channel on the border lead if you have used an "H" came.
- Sweep the excess whiting off to the side of the table then turn the panel over (see step 5) and repeat step 10. When all the whiting and cement is removed, use a fid or lathekin to scrape the excess cement from the edges of the came, being careful not to dig the cement from under the leaf. Some people use wooden or nylon dowels about a quarter inch in diameter which have been sharpened to a point with a pencil sharpener as an alternative to the fid. While doing this, continue to scrub the panel. Repeat on the opposite side. When the brush loses more than half of its bristles, discard it.
- Black Cement will darken the lead cames. The more you scrub the panel with the natural bristle brush, the darker both the lead cames and the solder joints will become. With enough stamina, a homogenous black lacquer-like finish can be obtained, eliminating the need for a black patina application. This occurs only with lead came (and blackened glazing compounds), not with zinc, copper or brass cames (or uncolored glazing compounds).
- At this point all traces of the cement should be removed from the face of the cames, next to the leaf of the cames, and from the glass surface. When successfully done, the window will really sparkle and shouldn’t require a wet cleaning. When finished, let the window lay flat for a minimum of 24 to 48 hours to let it dry and harden before installing it or adding reinforcement bars. Check it a few times while drying for any additional cement that may have oozed out from under the came and remove promptly.
- You’re not finished yet. Make sure to sweep up the area around you and to remove any globs of cement from the table. Once the cement hardens on the table, it is very difficult to remove.
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