Window Resealing Experiment
June 14th, 2012 | Back to Blog Listing
One of the problems we've had to deal with are some leaky windows. This problem was unfortunately made clear to us about a month ago after a solid week of storms rolled through. The coach portion of the bus has 12 square windows, 1 large rectangular window in the rear, and 2 convex port hole windows towards the front. Of those, at least 4 of the square windows leak pretty significantly as does the large rectangular one. A few of the other ones only let in a little moisture in a torrential downpour.

But in keeping with the restoration, the plan has been to go ahead and reseal all of them. We went ahead and completed one of them this evening just to get a feel for how long the process would take. Although it took us about an hour to do it, I think we could probably do them all at once and spend maybe 20 minutes per window, still about a 6 hour project.

In our case, the inside bolts holding the window frame in are about 30 years old so we went ahead and replaced all of them with machine screws from Austin Bolt Company. The new screws actually make the interior much nicer with their shininess.

Tools necessary:
  • 1/4" Socket and Phillips Screwdriver
  • Butyl Tape
  • Putty Knife
  • Razor Blades
  • Rubber Gloves
  • Silicon Caulk
  • Caulk Gun
  • Cloth or Paper Towels (excess Caulk)

The side of the bus with the first window removed.


Caroline using a putty knife to remove all of the old sealant tape from the window frame.


Caroline applying the butyl tape around the perimeter of the window opening. The corners were a little trickier to do.


With the window back in place, we just had to cut the excess butyl tape off. The 2" width I purchased was WAY too much, but I didn't know how far in the seal went. One inch would have been just fine, but fortunately it cuts very easily with a razor blade.


Finally all that was left was to seal the edges with some clear silicon sealant. Once it dries, this window should be good for another 30 years.