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Here at Scottish Stained Glass, we have been getting more and more calls from churches and temples around the country that have stained glass windows in need of restoration. The fact that this is happening now is not really a surprise. Religious stained glass really took off in popularity for American churches, cathedrals, temples, and other houses of worship around the turn of the twentieth century and has continued on unabated.
What that means is many of these stained glass windows and doors are heading close to or upwards of one hundred years, so it’s really not surprising that many of them are in need of serious restoration, cleaning, and some TLC.
We have developed a special restoration process for religious stained glass of any size, no matter how huge the windows might be. Our process ensures that we can match both the glass and the leaded strips that hold the pieces of glass together, restoring the stained glass window to its former beauty. Although this process can be quite time-consuming, depending on the size of the panels involved, we are honored to be able to restore the work of the master craftsmen and stained glass artists who came before us. And we are thrilled to be able to return a beloved piece of stained glass to a church filled with people who have admired and respected it for generations.
Our stained glass restoration process starts with an initial consultation to determine the extent of the damage, if any, and see exactly what would need to be done to restore the piece. And if we do go forward with the restoration, the windows will have to be uninstalled and shipped to our studio for the work to be done. Many larger religious stained glass restoration projects will take months in our studio.
Included in our religious stained glass restoration process:
1. Custom glass: we can order specially made colors or textures or finishes of glass to match the antique glass in the original stained glass window or panel.
2. Thorough cleaning: we use a specially made cleaning solution that will not only dissolve any caked-on dirt deposits or dried out old cement or glues, but will restore the glass to its original luster and beauty.
3. Reassembly with new lead: we use specially made lead caming that will look like the old original lead, keeping the antique appearance, but is reinforced on the inside of the strips to give the stained glass windows greater strength and durability going forward.
4. Steel brace bars for support: used for large religious stained glass panels, these bars ensure that the weight of the stained glass is transferred into the framing around the glass. Adding this kind of structural integrity can add many years to the life of the stained glass windows.
5. Protection from the elements: we install all our stained glass on the inside of a clear pane of glass, which will protect the restored panel from whatever your climate can throw at it.
For more information about our religious stained glass restoration work or to arrange a consultation about your own restoration project, please contact us at Scottish Stained Glass today.
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