I’m planning on painting the inside of my house which includes the windows. The house I am painting is recently purchased and has been neglected for some years. I’ve got some questions about painting the interior portions of the windows:
- as you can see from the attached photo there is a lot of old paint and grime on the window sills; what is the best way to deal with this prior to panting. I was thinking of a metal brush to strip the paint, vacuuming the chips up with a shop vac and then sanding. Sound about right?
- Should I use interior or exterior paint on these pieces of the window that are somewhat exposed to the elements (again as in the attached image)?
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Thanks, M
Replies
When the old paint is in bad condition, chipping and flaking, I often use a chemical paint stripper and go to bare wood. It's easier than scraping and sanding. Prep work is 90% of any paint job. I prefer an oil based primer. I like oil on the interior. It's much more workable and you can go back to tip off. Acrylics are a good choice for the exterior. They skin over quickly and you can't play around with the brush or go back over things. My painter friend says acrylics separate the men from the boys in brush technique. Oils flatten out, acrylics often show brush marks more prominently. I don't think interior or exterior makes a lot of difference in your case. It's probably more important that you don't wait 40 years before painting again.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
If the wood is really dried out (after you strip the old paint off) and you are using an oil based primer, you should condition the wood. Use a 50/50 mix of turpentine and boiled linseed oil. Brush on liberally, let soak in for a few minutes, then wipe off the excess. Repeat as needed, until the wood does not accept any more.
The rags are a fire hazard. Treat them carefully. You can drop them in a bucket of water, or hang them on a line to dry.
What you show is external and should have exterior paint.
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Look again, ya think the inside of the house has grass and black top?
The sill is like that cuz the window was left open way too many times in the rain.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
You gonna play that thing?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32Ln-SpJsy0
"Look again, ya think the inside of the house has grass and black top?"Sure, I am from kentucky. That is an upscale house. Otherwise bare dirt.What I "think" that I see is a tripple track screen storm. Then a slot for the window. I don't see a parting stop, so it looks like it might be a single hung with an exterior and interior stop for the bottom movable sash.And while I am not sure of this, the bottom looks like it is a sloping sill and not a stool..
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A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Go buy one of those $70-80 GOOD heat guns and use that. Hold it steady on a section until the paint bubbles up, then scrape the mush with a painters 5-in-1 tool. Go back with a "Medium" grit sanding sponge (I like the thin 3M ones) and then prime with penetrating (slow-dry) alkyd primer. Scuff off with a "Fine" grit sponge and then paint with Benjamin Moore Satin Impervo. Brush it on or better yet, buy a Wagner HVLP-Conversion gun (about $150) and shoot it on. It'll look like a million bucks.
Take all of the paint off down to wood. Heat gun worked better than chemical strippers for me. Faster, easier, and cleaner. Go to the paint store, buy a flat carbide scraper and a set of GOOD profile scrapers. Go slow, and do maybe one window a week.
Looks like you don't have any weatherstripping one those sashes. You should look in to spring bronze.
Congratulations, you're in for a real treat! It took me 18 months to do my 22 windows.