I have a TDL bow window and the wood making up the muntins is thick. It extends much farther out than any other windows I’ve seen puttied in videos. The old putty seems to have been applied very thick and extends from the glass to overlap the wood by almost an inch. Wondering if there is a functional reason behind this? Should we try to duplicate the old stuff when we reapply?
The functional reason is to make a slanted surface on the top of the horizontal muntins for rain water to run off.
The vertical units and the underside of the horizontal units are then done the same for aesthetic purposes so all the muntis are uniform.
Yes, you should duplicate this to achieve the desired slant for water run off. Then when dried, prime and apply a good exterior paint and your window will survive many more years.
