Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums Showcase and Stories, Petroliana Caulking globe lenses.

The topic of caulking lenses in a glass body has come up several times over the years here on Shop Talk.
There are two main reasons to caulk lenses in. One is if you're displaying a globe outside caulking the lenses in will prevent water and dirt from getting between the body and lens. The other reason is to protect the lenses from moving around on the body which can lead to chips or flaking aound the notches, or even cracks.
I've caulked the lenses on several of my globes and I expect that one day I'll caulk all of my 3 piece glass globes. I prefer to use a high quality silicone caulk such as GE Silicone 1 or Silicone 2 because when done properly it is absolutely impossible to see the caulk.
Here is how I caulk my lenses in:
Place the globe on a soft surface.
Cut the tip of the caulking tube on an angle. I prefer the tip to have about a 1/8" opening or SMALLER. Anything bigger and you'll have a mess!

Place the tip of the caulking tube on the lens so that the angle of the tip is paralell to the globe with the long side of the cut away from you.
I like to work from notch to notch but you can start anywhere.

Squeeze the trigger and when caulk starts coming out begin to drag the tip around the perimeter of the lens while maintaining even pressure on the trigger of the caulking gun, and maintaining an even speed.

Stop when get get half way around the globe.



[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 02-04-2007).]

[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 02-04-2007).]

Wet the tip of your finger and go over the caulk joint. This will make an even joint that will be hard to see.

Clean off any excess caulk with a paper towel or a rag.

Repeat the above steps on the other half of the lens.
When done properly you won't see the caulk. The idea is not to adhere the lenses to the body but rather to eliminate any movement of the lenses.
You can also use silicone to adhere lenses to a body. Some guys caulk notchless gill lenses to a standard 3 piece body because gill bodies are so hard to come by. To do this follow the steps outlined above but apply a LITTLE more caulk. You don't need a 1/4" wide bead to do the job!
NEVER set a lens in caulk. Only caulk around the lens.
If you decide you want to remove a lens that has been siliconed, simply take a utility knife and cut through the caulk at the edge of the lens. Once the lens is removed its an easy job to remove the remainder of the caulk from the body.
If you're not handy with a caulking gun you can buy silicone in a plastic squeeze tube.

Bob, Show us the finished product! LOL Looks great... how many have you caulked in now.

That particular globe has a lot of washing around the edge. I'll post a picture of anther globe that has caulked in lenses and post it. Not sure how many I've caulked in but I still have a bunch to do.

I like caulking some globe lenses with clear silicone, but it's a HUGE mistake to suggest, in my opinion, caulking an entire globe - I would never, never recommend it to anyone.

Silicone is extremely strong - we've used it to assemble hundreds of fish aquariums - water is about 8.6 pounds per gallon - so think about glass walls on a 125 gallon aquarium being held together by a bead of silicone.

We use clear silicone to caulk some 15 and 16-1/2" globes to elminate unsightly snap rings or when you get a body where lenses don't lay flat in the grooves.
Also, consider the potential damage to a globe from removing a snap ring - some people have broke lenses.

I myself, would never use silicone on a 13-1/2 globe with perfect lenses that are notched.
When selling a globe - today or when you die, people want to see the backside of the lense to know it hasn't been monkeyed with. Hard to do unless you plan to cut out all the silicone - or have your family do it when you die.

Use of just a 1-2 inch bead of clear silicone at the 12 o'clock, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock marks, is more than enough to secure a lense.

Silicone takes about 24 hours to really setup and fully cure.
Lay the metal body down on a table and set the lense flat.
Bead silicone on top and into groove (but preferably not to the bottom of the groove) without getting any under the lense edge.
wipe with finger - use a paper towel to clean finger after wiping - and run over it again.
Don't worry about a little being left on the glass lense face. After 24 hours, you can take a new razor blade and clean up excess silicone on the glass lense.

Next day, flip the globe over and do the other side.

Lenses caulked with silicone won't vibrate, so can be bubble wrapped and shrink wrapped, and shipped safely as any other.

------------------
Ron Bettin
740-774-OHIO(6446)
bettin@bright.net

[This message has been edited by bettin (edited 02-04-2007).]

Thats an important point. I wouldn't caulk lenses on globes I was planning on selling right away.
If you do caulk your lenses and decide you want to remove them some day it only takes a few seconds per lens to do so.

Different people have different ways of caulking lenses in, just like they have different ways restoring pumps.

I've caulked some lenses with 3 or 4 beads about an inch and a half long. I prefer caulking the entire perimeter for aesthetic reasons. A continuous bead when done correctly looks better than 3 or 4 short beads.

Many Shop Talk members are pump restorers and they use repro globes on pumps that are displayed outdoors. The best way to caulk those globes is like Jarvis described in another topic recently. Caulk around the entire lens except leave a gap at the bottom for moisture to get out.

[This message has been edited by Lastgas15 (edited 02-05-2007).]

thanks for showing me how to do it....