I’ve attached a photo of a closeup of a sidelight. The unit is steel with the usual plastic trim around the glass. The unit faces west but is recessed into a portico of sorts. The goop running out of the glass insert is not water soluble. Has anyone ever seen this?
BTW, I’m not responsible for this mess — didn’t install it and haven’t done anything with it. Just trying to help the HO find some answers and suggestions. He contacted the supplier (he had the house built) and they say the condition “doesn’t happen”.
Edited 10/27/2003 11:29:29 PM ET by Tim
Replies
Tim,
Looks like a typical steel door problem. Water hits glass, runs down into metal door cut out, rusts slab, degrades paint. Can be caused by weather as well as interior sweating. To fix. Sand to bare metal ,prime and paint. Caulk around glass and plastic frame, repeat every few years as necessary.
Most steel doors start as a slab and windows are cut out and added per customer order. The raw edge of the steel is often left untreated, add water and voila!
Interior sweating is an indoor environmental issue.
Thanks, Hammer. What you are suggesting undoubtedly does happen. However, in this case, the goop is on the outside of the paint and appears to have run out from under the insert frame. It is some kind of solvent- or oil-based stuff. I'm wondering if it isn't glue or something mixed with disintegrating insulating foam. It just occured to me that the installer of the insert might have used a solvent-based adhesive or caulk to install the insert and it is eating the foam and plastic.
Tim,
Regardless of whether the stuff is goop, rust or acid rain I think you need to remove the sidelight and look for the problem. It may have been caused by something as simple as window cleaner or a homemade version of such. The fact remains that cutouts in metal doors leak. The window installers are usually very good at sealing the perimeter of the frame but anything liquid will flow down the glass and contact raw edges of the cutout and anything else inside the door panel.
Many would not be comfortable taking out the sidelight. The assembly is simple enough but the plastic frames can get brittle and the caulking/adhesive can be tough to open up. Replacements may not be available and you run the risk of breaking the glass. A judicious use of a heat gun and a sharp flexable putty knife can help but you can't pry on one end, you need to slowly work all around the perimeter.
I had a customer that I built a walnut dining room table for. She called because the finish was turning white on this highly polished laquered table. The cause? She regularly sprayed down the table with chlorox and let it sit overnight! There is nothing you can do about some homeowners hand. For all you know someone could be cleaning windows with acetone.
The issue is, are you and the homeowner willing to go through the procedure of removing the light with all the possible problems and costs and with no guarantees that you will find the trouble, or take the easy way of cleaning and just repainting. You can also suggest replacing the sidelight or the whole door unit.
Tim,
I just took a closer look at the picture. You are right about it not looking like rust, even if it was under the paint. It has a mold like appearence but the sills and brick are clean. The lower part of the glass frame looks like there is something dripping from above. If the foam was melting you would think it would stay inside, hard to beleive caulking would melt without introducing a solvent. Was a paint remover or other solvent used in the past? Are there any factors to considder from above? Is the problem limited to this sidelight? If the issue is with the caulking, would it not be evident on the other lights, assuming there are others.
I wonder if the initial problem was as I thought, a typical steel door leak that was stripped with a chemical and now that has added another problem. We will be interested to discover your findings.
I wish I had time to look into it right now, while you're interested. By the time I get to it, if the HO wants me to, we'll all have forgotten this conversation. Thanks for the time you took to ponder it. I don't know the answers to your questions, but when I find out anything, I'll revisit the issue.
Based on what I can see in the photo and one other door I've seen, I have to respectfully disagree with Hammer. This doesn't look like rust to me. I think it has something to do with the adhesive used to glue in the plastic frame or glass. Perhaps some incompatibility of the adhesive with the foam insulation or the plastic trim. They might carefully try different solvents until they find one that disolves the goop without making a mess of everything else.
It might be informative to know what door manufacturer won't stand behind their product.
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Al, the HO told me he has clean it of once or twice, but it still keeps bleeding. I think it's a local problem. That is, local dealers buy the slabs and install the inserts to order. I wonder if the manufacturer would like to know one of their dealers is having a problem, or rather is creating problems.
Maybe a bead of silicone would hold the goop in.
Al
Ah, you're the practical-minded one.