Replacing Adhesive on Exterior Door Glass Insert

Hi Everyone,

I have an issue where my exterior doors are oozing out the adhesive for the window insert frame (caused by heat).

I found this thread as well as others which leads me to believe this is a common problem and no real solution was offered other than waiting for the sealant to stop dripping out. Fault seems to be from manufacturers using adhesive which cannot withstand sun/heat.

I have removed the leaking adhesive with a razor blade and Goo Gone but it keeps coming back (doors are over 15 years old so will likely continue to do this for the next decade or more).

I had an idea to remove the glass panes, clean up the old adhesive, and use 3M Windo-Weld.

If you are not familiar, this is what is used in the automotive world to seal replacement windshields and is unbelievably durable (as cars are exposed to forced water/direct sun it has to be). I have used this stuff on my vehicles for various projects and it never fails.

My question: Is there any reason for me not to do this?

PS: The front door was white for about 12 years so the color made no difference. Side door is white and still oozes adhesive.

 

That's very common, and you're right - the sun and heat causes the OE adhesive/sealer the door factory used to ooze out. I think most people that are concerned with its looks just do as you have done and trim it with a razor blade, and clean it up with adhesive cleaner like GooGone - but then when/if it happens again, they just do it again.

I've never heard of anyone going as far as to remove the door's glass and re-install it using auto glass sealer. You have pictured auto glass 'ribbon sealer'. I think you'd want to use a flowable sealer from a tube, not a ribbon sealer. It sounds reasonable that the auto glass sealer (flowable windshield sealer applied from a tube) would work well and not ooze out like the OE adhesive/sealer.

The problem is the amount of the time and effort this would take. And, most likely that same OE adhesive/sealer was used under the glass framing that is attached to the door, so that is likely going t be a gooey mess also and will probably be very hard to remove without damaging the door itself or the paint/coating you have on the door(s).

There should be about six screws in the glass frame which are filled/plugged with a concave filler cap and visible on the indoor side of the exterior door.

 

Removing the frame and glass in order to remove all the old glazing is the only way to get it to stop doing that a little at a time. If your plugs were installed you need to drive a screw into the center of them in order to remove the plugs. This ruins the plugs, so you can either leave them out (doesn't bother me) or you will need to get new plugs. There are more like 14 plugs on a typical 9 lite 24x38 window... way more if this is a full glass door.

It's practically a 2 man job to take the glass out and put it back in again... because you have to have one person hold the glass in place while you fasten the frame on the other side. You can do it by yourself but it's tricky... Having a glass suction cup helps obviously. And plan on repainting it all when you're done.

 

Thanks for the advice. The sealer they used on the door is definitely different than the ribbon sealer. Ribbon sealer won’t melt like that.

I had thought about the sealer in a tube but feel that could cause a mess. The ribbon stuff holds extremely well in place.

I found a vid on replacing the glass and the trick is to take the door off and put it on a flat surface or saw horses outside facing down. Then unscrew the inside trim and lift the door off allowing the glass to stay in place.

I’m hoping it will come out easy due to the weak adhesive but we’ll see. I plan to repaint both doors and I hate the thought of it being ruined again.

once I get some time to do this I’ll post back my results.

Thank you again!!.

 

If the outside is facing down, the glass along with the outer frame is in danger of falling onto the ground when you unscrew the interior frame if the outside glue happens to let go. You don't always find the smartest advice on youtube. Leave the door on the hinges.... or make sure the door is laying on a sheet of plywood to support it if you insist on adding an uneccessary step.

 

Another thought on this. I was looking at door inserts (replacement glass in patterns, etc.) and they use seal tape instead of caulk.

What are the thoughts on using something like this instead of the ribbon sealer or caulk?



Edit 1: Here is the glass lites/frames I was referencing. That's where I got the idea to use sealing tape.


Edit 2: This is the other stuff I was looking at if I go the caulk route. It is specifically made for glass to frame sealing - I want to call the manufacturer to see if it will not drip/liquify during the heat. Both my doors are behind storm doors so the heat builds up.

 

Two faced tape only works if you have wide flat surface for it to adhere to. The back of your frame likely does not look like the frame in your photo 2... which has a groove made especially for the tape.

 

Ah, good point - thanks.