Hi Everyone π
I know not to glue my DH window sashes permanently in place with paint but what about painting them when I have them removed from their casings? They are bare wood where they slide in the casings and stops. The casings are bare wood too. I can see how time and sunlight have taken their toll on them, whereas the painted portions of everything are in better shape.
With the sashes removed, would painting them completely and then letting them dry for a few days give me windows that would still slide or would even dry paint where they slide gum them up?
My alternative idea is to use an oil treatment on the bare wood/sliding portions of the surfaces. On the sashes I’d use masking tape to separate those edge areas from the painted areas when painting. My only reservation about that is that the paint job would protect and look better if I wasn’t leaving anything unpainted?
-John
Replies
I'd paint the frame and oil the sides of the sash. Most dh windows around here have painted frames and bare wood sides. I'm sure they worked better when oil based paint was the standard, most latex is pretty gummy.
OB
Are you going to try to paint your windows soon? How cold is it where you are and how long can you leave your sashes out? It's headed to -30ΒΊ here tonight.
Latex paint will take more than a couple of days to toughen up enough for sash to frame contact. It is tough to get paint to set up in a cold window frame if your fighting the weather.
A quality water based clear coat will set so much faster. Maybe even get one with UV inhibiters.
Sufficient prep will make a big difference in the outcome.
Thankfully I can leave the sashes out as long as necessary. Even though it's cold here too I still have the old triple track storm windows in place so we're sealed out against the outdoors. As good as the triple tracks can manage, at least ;)I just put the second coat of oil based primer on the sashes. I have the vertical side edges and slide areas masked out. I could still pull off the tape and prime there too. Maybe I can hit them with that clear coat stuff instead though.I'm going to use Benjamin Moore exterior soft gloss latex as the finish paint on the rest of their surfaces.Here's another side question - is it better/worse/neither if I do all the finish painting on the sashes before I re-install the glass? Or will the glazing putty adhere better to the primer than the finish paint? Either way, I would also plan on putting finish paint over the putty once it has set, too.Thanks for people's advice :)-John
Don't paint the contact surfaces. Wax them if you want them to slide better, but don't paint the the edges of the sash or part of the jamb that the edges contact. Panting the the little bit of the faces of the sash that rub against the stops is ok, but leave the stops a little loose.The contact surfaces on my windows have not been painted for 148 years and they aren't worn out yet...Steve
Just prime the glass rabbets, don't paint that area. The putty will behave better.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
Don't paint the sides. You can oil them with a 50/50 mix of turpentine and boiled linseed oil (same with the frames). Apply with a brush, let soak in, and wipe with a rag. Repeat until the wood does not absorb any more. Some wax over this won't hurt anything, but I don't know how long it will be effective.
I like to paint over the glazing compound with maybe a 1/32 roll of paint onto the glass. Off the shelf glazing compound can take a while to set up.I like to use the linseed oil glazing compound from solventfreepaint.com. On the window sashes I use their linseed oil paint so that I can glaze and paint the same day. The material is expensive but it lasts and a little goes a long way.A round brush works so much better for things like this. My Hardware Hank had some for a couple of bucks. You roll the brush in your hand for more paint on the cut edge and the edge stays much more consistent than with a regular brush.
Edited 12/16/2008 9:56 am by MNrosewood