Our lead may be purchased in 50 lb. case.

• 24 inch strips with FREE SHIPPING.  (Best for price and use)

Lead came has been used to join small pieces to assemble stained glass panels since early 1200 AD in Europe in monasteries, cathedrals, churches, religious buildings and some wealthy homes.  Small pieces of different color and many times painted on glass were being used to assemble windows depicting religious settings.   Lead at first was cast to form the shapes and later was produced by extruding through a die to form the desired shape.

Lead and or copper foil techniques together may both be used as part of the design or merely to assemble pieces of glass.

Caution:  Lead came is a heavy metal that if ingested can cause health problems.  Lead is not absorbed through the skin yet can be transported by contact with other ingested materials.  Wash your hands after working with lead and before smoking, eating or doing anything that may transport lead to your system.

Cementing or puttying-- After assembling the glass pieces together the panel must be made water tight.  Putty takes 10 times longer to apply than cement and does a poor job in filling the area between the lead came and the glass. Cement makes the panel much stronger yet is harder to repair when a panel is damaged.  Cement will not keep over night.  Putty keeps for a longer time yet after short storage must be thinned before use which can take longer than mixing cement.

Stained glass cements formula:

• 50 lbs whiting (calcium carbonate)
• 10 lbs casting plaster (Plaster of Paris)
• 10 lbs Portland cement

Liquefier:

• 50% boiled linseed oil
• 50% paint thinner

These formulas may vary by using Raw Linseed Oil, Kerosene, or Turpentine.

Where color is desired: Add one cup carbon black or 2 cups of black coloring.  (Carbon black is best yet is a mess to work with)

Mix powder completely then add liquid to create thickness desired (cold thick honey).  (Only make up what will be used as the mixture will not keep overnight.)

Set piece flat and apply with scrub brush in circular fashion until cement is oozing out other side.  Turn piece and apply a small amount to other side to fill any vacancies.  Take some cement powder or whiting and put a small amount on the window and brush and polish it clean.  Turn the window over and apply more powder and clean and polish the front side.  Let the panel set over night before installation.

Clean up and finish the project immediately after applying the cement.  Projects left to be cleaned up the next day will take 50 times longer to clean.  Watch out for problems with heavy textured rippled glass etc and glue chipped glass.

Caution: When using a cloth to polish, finish, or apply cement--- Properly dispose of cloth as material impregnated with linseed oil can automatically start to burn. (Spontaneous combustion)

NOTE: ALL SALES ARE FINAL on LEAD CAME and SOLDER