weather proofing windows

[BOB]

I have begun replacing the weather stripping around my windows on a 1981 catalina 30, and found it to be very time consuming. The old caulking has become gum, sticky and extremely hard to remove,...two hours to replace and caulk new, 2 -3 hours to remove old caulking..tried mineral spirits but it just balls up and becomes harder to work with. With 6 windows to do at 5 to 6 hours each?......any ideas...........thanks in advance bob

 

[Lauraine]

If your windows are the aluminum framed ones,

w'ere doing the same thing right now on our 85 C30. Save yourself a lot of grief and bite the bullet and take them out and rebed them one at a time. When you get them out, take the frames apart and remove the glass. Clean the old goop off everything - glass, frames - THOROUGHLY with Acetone or mineral spirits, including the cabinsides. You can get new gasketing from Catalina Direct. Make sure when you cut the gaskets to frame the glass that the seam is at the top of the window. Use polysulfide to rebed the frames into the openings in the cabinsides. It's really the only way to prevent the leaks and you really only want to do it ONCE! Good luck!