Painting Window Sash
Standing sashes up and painting only two edges at a time minimizes the mess.
Painting the muntins on a divided-lite sash or door is a pain, and it takes forever. Here’s a tip from a friend whose father was a painter. First, don’t paint a window when it’s lying flat. Stand it up on a pair of sawhorses, as shown in the drawing. Now paint only two sides of the rectangles formed by the muntins. If you’re right-handed, you probably want to paint down the left side and across the bottoms of the muntins. When you’re done, flip the sash over and start again. This way you’ll never have to paint across the top and down the right, which is awkward for righties. Lefties do just the opposite.
Jefferson Kolle, Ridgefield, CT
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my sawhorses are 18" & 30" high, which means bending over and flipping the windows a lot, and windows don't stand up on their own. I set the sash up on a workbench, either clamped or propped-up, I have a bench top easel, with the paint can right there and paint as described in the tip.