Yesterday I finished doing a reseal on all eight Windows in my Catalina 30. It will take a day or at least six hours to get them all out. Then the work starts, cleaning the old silicone. On the re-seal kit they provide you with a U-shaped piece of weather-stripping that goes around the window. You put a bead of Dow Corning caulking in the center of the U-shaped piece. Then you put a bead on the U-shaped piece of the frame and I use the popsicle stick supplied to smooth it out somewhat. I put a bead inside and outside then slid the window with the U-shaped weather-stripping in then putting the top piece on and putting the screws that hold the two together. Once that is all cleaned up, then I installed the flat piece that goes on the inside of the window/I would call this a trim piece. In the instructions it says to put this piece on after the window is installed. I found it easier to do while the window was out and on the bench then install the window. I thought about using butyl tape on the outside. After talking to a glazing friend he told me that the Dow Corning would be the best. But since they sent me the 3M 4000 fast cure for the sealant in the kit, It might be best just to use what they supplied. So I did.
Okay with that said I believe my windows were original there was no caulking in the window channel itself. Which helped out tremendously in the cleanup, I would not want to take these apart again for any reason after all the caulking I used. I’ll let somebody else do that LOL. The biggest part of the job is cleaning the aluminum up, and you also have to straighten the frames out because they will more likely be bent a little from the screws tightening down. I use the half-inch piece of wood and I hammer and laid the frame upside down on a wood workbench and gave it a couple blows to straighten the frames out.
I will say you that it took me every bit of eight days to do these windows, call me slow but that's what it took. Also went through about 20 razor blades cleaning up the silicone. One other hint and removing the window, I used a very thin putty knife from the outside of the window in between the fiberglass and the aluminum frame and went around the whole window pushing it straight in. Then I used a small 6 inch pry bar to get the window separated from the fiberglass this takes a little time so you don't break anything using the putty knife as you get the window to start to break loose from the fiberglass. Then I use the putty knife to scrape the old caulking off the fiberglass. A plastic putty knife might be good also to do this. I would not use a razor blade. Then clean the fiberglass up with some lacquer thinner and a terrycloth. Old-fashioned elbow grease.
Please excuse my grammar and spelling/I’m not very good at either.
Here’s the kit I bought from Catalina direct
http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm/product/967_379/aluminum-window-reseal-kit-c-30-c-36-.cfm
