Window Sash Painting

Excerpt from the book Save America's Windows
http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/reports/reports.htm#Windows

Step 9d. Paint.
Apply primer to putty bevels and interior seals. Lap primer 1/16" onto the glass, painting "to the line," allow to dry. Apply two top coats of paint to entire sash except side edges and face margins and top and bottom edges if they are not being painted. (Use best quality exterior house paint. Waterborne 100% acrylic paint is good, as is oil-based alkyd resin paint.) Lap paint 1/8" onto to glass. If you can (with practice) lap the paint onto the glass just a bare 1/32" to 1/16", so much the better. Allow paint to dry and cure thoroughly.

The over-paint-and-scrape-back method is problematic. Slopping paint onto a wide margin of the glass and then coming back to scrape it off takes more time time than painting to a line. Slow down and learn to paint to a line, you will be saving time after three to five sashes. (Yes, you can learn to do it, I have taught 13 year old kids, and 72 year old grandmothers to do it, by showing them just once.)

Join us at the Historic HomeWorks windows discussion forum:
http://historichomeworks.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=955

See the full-length 20 minute video and others in the series:
http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/video/rftf.htm#Reports

Learn how to paint and restore older and historic windows at my workshops and training sessions:
http://www.historichomeworks.com/hhw/education/seminars.htm

Copyright 2010 John C Leeke

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• paint
• painting
• primer
• window
• sash
• putty
• glazing
• deglazing
• glazing compound
• restore
• restoration
• repair
• wood
• glass
• historic preservation
• historic
• preservation
• john leeke
• historic homeworks
• vinyl replacement window
• vinyl window
• replacement window

[thevillageinn]

You paint much like I was taught. My father taught me and he learned years ago from a career painter - before painting became something "anyone can do." Practice, a steady hand and plenty of paint sure help when cutting a nice straight line. Thanks for your clear demonstration of good technique.

I also like that your sweater matched the paint quite well which added to the overall neat appearance. Why do so many painters show up at the job in the morning covered in paint? 

[johnleeke]

Thanks for your story about how you learned glazing & painting.

>>I also like that your sweater matched the paint quite well which added to the overall neat appearance. Why do so many painters show up at the job in the morning covered in paint? <<

I did show up in the morning in my clean white sweater. I just happened to shoot this video at the end of the day when my sweater was completely covered in paint.

[johnleeke]

In this case the sashes have been removed from the window for complete refurbishing, including deglazing, wood repairs, reglazing and painting in the shop. Each sash is painted separately. After the paint is completely dry the sashes are hung back in the window frame in the wall.

It's possible to paint all of the interior of both sashes in place, moving the sashes up and down to get to tops and bottoms of the meeting rails, then go outside and do the same for the exterior.

John

[DollyMat]

Would it not be best to show the window hung??? I wanted to know how you paint the two separate halves. Which half first or do you do both at once or let one dry first?