Call Now. Assessing - should you paint your door? Exterior paint - get a proper exterior acrylic paint, not one for interior painting—you want the extra durability and the mildew-resistance of outdoor paint. A screwdriver - for removing hardware. Sanding tools - to prep surfaces for paint.
Mildewcide cleaner or bleach - to clean the door before painting. A small paint roller - for the primary painting. If your door is fiberglass or steel, consider using a foam roller to avoid brush or roller marks. A paint brush - for the details and edgework.
Assorted cloths, sponges, etc - for wiping away various residues, splashes and other inevitable messes. Remove all hardware , including the doorknob, lock, kick plate, etc. Remove anything on the door that you want to get rid of - tape, etc. If you have wood clad aluminum or fiberglass Pella windows , the answer to whether you can paint them is yes if you use the correct materials. Unfortunately, vinyl window casings do not handle new paint no matter what the precautions, leading to peeling and flaking.
Can you paint Andersen clad windows? Most modern Andersen windows are solid vinyl. You can successfully paint vinyl-clad Andersen windows if you prepare them correctly, as long as you realise they will no longer be maintenance-free.
A white vinyl window sash provides crisp contrast with dark trim. How do you paint fiberglass windows? Apply Your Color In general, it is recommended that you use a sprayer to paint your fiberglass windows.
Applying the paint with a sprayer will make sure that your color is applied in uniform layers. Start from the middle of the window and slowly move to the outside edges for an even coat. Can I paint my aluminum windows? The most important step in the process of painting aluminum storm windows is the preparation work. Paint will not adhere to aluminum that is not properly prepared. You must clean the window frames of all dirt and peeling paint, and apply primer before you can paint the windows.
Painting over Marvin factory-applied clad finish on windows or doors voids any warranty, written or implied. Wash and rinse the area thoroughly with a solution of water and car wash soap after cleaning with mineral spirits.
For the exterior cladding, use an automotive cleaner wax to remove stubborn stains and chalk. For exterior cleaning , water from a garden hose can be used to dislodge any soil and perform the final rinse.
The extruded aluminum is the thicker of the two, therefore lasting longer than roll formed. It's important to note that with any aluminum - clad window , water can seep in behind the cladding and cause the wood underneath to rot , ultimately shortening its life. Buy acrylic or latex paint. For best results, choose paint with a matte or satin finish. While glossy paint will work, it is not recommended because it will show off any imperfections in the metal.
Because you already applied the primer, you can use any type of paint you want. Use an acrylic latex enamel to paint vinyl surfaces. Although it is not recommended to paint vinyl clad window frames, it can be done as long as you avoid problematic mistakes. As long as you are careful you may change the color of your vinyl window frames at any time. Sand the aluminum storm window frames using a sanding block or grit sandpaper to remove all loose, flaking or peeling paint. Use a small hand broom to sweep off the sanding dust and loose paint chips.
Wash the window frames again and then rinse them with clean water. Allow the window frames to dry completely. Aluminum - clad windows — aluminum - clad windows are the strongest of all clad - windows. Aluminum cladding is extremely durable, dent-resistant, and affordable. But aluminum transfers heat more easily than vinyl or fiberglass, so aluminum - clad windows can be less energy efficient. It only covers the basics and hopefully will lead readers to this page for details.
My hope is for homeowners to understand what they are buying and the impact it has on curb appeal. Here it is — I hope this helped you. Please share it on your favorite social media site and help improve curb appeal! Storm windows must match your exterior window sash color. Remember Old House Guy offers a virtual house painting service. We will make sure your house is painted correctly and no mistakes are made. It may seem unimportant but it does make a difference. This area that will touch the upper sash as it slides downward should be oiled with Linseed Oil.
The reason is that a build up of paint will make the window difficult to open. That is if you are using the upper sash. Otherwise if already painted just apply a very thin coat of paint to match the trim color.
Enjoyed reading your appreciation for windows. Hi OHG, you have been so helpful in my home renovation project! I wish I had found you earlier. I love the exterior muntins, but have been irritated by something wrong. Sure enough you covered it here. This is infuriating. Thanks for fighting the good fight. Do you take on fake wood grain in places where real wood would be milled smooth-a huge pet peeve of mine, with pella doors being a big offender!
Thanks for your comment. I wish I could have stopped you sooner! About the fake grain — how stupid do manufacturers think we are? I did write about this on my porch skirt page where to make lattice a sheet of plastic has holes punched into it with fake wood grain to fool us.
Thank you so much for taking the time to inform your readers about this. The porch is a mix-mash of styles, doors, and windows. I think they used whatever they found at the resale store. Some casement, some sliders, some storms. We added reclaimed french doors and a trellis as a temporary fix 7 years ago. The existing single door looked ridiculous. The right side will have to remain 3 season as it is for now.
My question is what type of windows should I use in the new bedroom, and what should I do about the front door that now needs to go back to a single door to allow enough room for the bedroom?
Remodeling the entire porch is not financially possible. We would appreciate any thoughts you have. Sincerely, Kris. Hi Kris — please send your photos to info oldhouseguy. Redoing an Greek Revival and want to do black windows. Thanks for all your tips! Your site is a phenominal resource.
Enjoyed the article. I am getting replacement windows and want them to be black sashes on the outside, yes they define the windows and make them look crisp. It in the details that makes the difference. Fantastic article— I definitely tweeted it! This was very helpful and helped focus my eye on proportion and shape. I have a question: Is there ever a time that the color of the mullions would be different from the color of the sash?
We live in a hi-rise apartment building so the outside appearance is of no consequence and cannot be altered. We have aluminum windows that have a crank handle and open inward in oil rubbed bronze color.
Our apartment is antique farmhouse style and I began working on the windows to improve their inside appearance to the extent possible. First, I built very nice white casing all around the windows where there was none. It is white, to match other extensive molding in the home. Where there was excessive sash as in some of your pictures, I did an overlay of white molding to further add weight to the casing and reduce the bronze part.
Now I have inserted window grills. So white casing and bronze sash. Before painting the mullions bronze, I primed them white and did a size check and was surprised that the white actually looked very bright and nice. So before I continue and paint the mullions bronze to match the sash, is there ever a case where you could have the casing white, sash bronze, and mullions white? Or do the mullions have to be the same color as the sash? Sorry, I meant muntins, not mullions.
I am asking about the paint color of the window grills, i. Thank you, I thought as much, but wanted to check. I used your painting tutorial as the reason for applying molding over some of the sash to minimize it and increase the casing and it was an amazing difference. Thank you so much. What is the best way to paint Pella windows? The salesman said we needed to hire a car body repairman to come and rough the windows up before repainting them with Pella paints.
Is this necessary? That sounds crazy. This is what they say. However, left by a previous owner, I have a vinyl window in my attic that was white and I painted dark green. It has not warped and gets full sun. However most paint manufacturers Benjamin Moore etc carry dark paint for this purpose with reflective properties you can use that will not heat up.
Before you do that the glossy surface needs to be buffed up with one of those steel wool pads as any glossy surface would. Update: Benjamin Moore no longer carries paint for vinyl. Sherwin Williams does have a selection of darker colors they offer. Paint manufacturers are now telling people not to paint their replacement windows for fear of legal issues and voiding useless window warranties.
I love your article and found it just in time. I have been agonizing over window selection for updating windows on my house.
I am looking at Andersen A Series windows and considering a different color for the sash. Their catalog shows the sash and the parting stop, sash channel and blind stop painted the same contrast darker color; with a different lighter color on the trim.
I understand you consider this wrong. Is it also a mistake to have just the sash in a contrasting color. Will the window appear too weak? In other words, is the only good option you would advise to go with just one color? No contrast. They also offer a three color choice. Sash in one color darkest , the parting stop, sash channel and blind stop in a second color, and the trim in a third color. What do you think of this option?
As the article states. There are two components the casing and the sash. Each can be painted its own color. The blind stop etc which are part of the casing are part of the casing and it would be crazy to paint them a different color.
We are also purchasing new storm windows for increased efficiency. Should the storm window be cream, or black? How about window screens in California , same principle?
The screen frames should match the window sash? Awesome site! This helped us decide to keep our 80 year old true divided light windows.
Love the colouring tips. Our interior trim and sashes will be painted dove white. The exterior will be painted a grey colour. The question for you is what colour should the storm window side facing the interior be painted? Should it be grey matching the rest of the exterior paint colour for the sash and trim or should it be dove white because it faces the interior and therefore matches the interior colour scheme? Saving your window — great news! The entire storm window will match the window sash.
Good luck! What do you do when the interior trim on our tudor is white and the exterior is brown? The windows need replacing and they are currently white anderson casement with the cross bars all white in and out. Hi Patti. If your window trim is white on the interior, keep them white but on the exterior they should be tan, dark brown, or black.
Actually black windows look great on a Tudor. The big problem comes in with bad windows. You need to have True Divided Light windows so they can be painted the correct way. The cross bars muntins must hold the glass and be on both the inside and outside. Anderson is not that advanced for they think homeowners do not know any better. LOVE this site. We have a rough stucco American Foursquare with the original aqua-colored exterior body paint!
This year, we plan to take each window, one at a time, and strip, re-caulk, and paint each one. I have been agonizing for several years over colors and storm windows — exterior flush or interior — as well the colors themselves.
Any comments and guidance to help end my uncertainty would be truly appreciated. Thanks for all. We have just reglazed all our sash windows, managing to save much of the original glass. Looking at painting the sash a dark blue grey on the outside but wondering if it is suitable to have the inside and outside of the sash different colours? The house is white on the outside and we will do interior trim white Dove with finish plaster walls.
Dear Ken: Thank you so much for your website. What a wonderful source of info. I wish I had done my homework. Pete FL. We wanted to match the painting and trim style of our main house white with grey blue trim casing which frames all 4 sides of each window but the contractor ended up putting in the new windows differently than we had expected.
There is casing around the sides and bottom of each window but the top casing is part of a band which continues around the building. This is done upstairs and downstairs. We assumed each window would be framed as the windows of the main house casing which frames each separate window on all four sides.
We had hoped to keep both buildings white with colored trim but now we have to deal with two bands going around the top of each story of the new building and think it might not look right to have these bands anything other than white which means we have to rethink our color scheme. Any suggestions? My house is a bungalow with the original wood sash windows. Most are painted shut and are white on the exterior.
I really would like to have the exterior painted black, but the original storm windows were replaced by white aluminum storms. All the windows casings are wrapped in white aluminum. And if so, what is the proper way to paint them so the paint adhere and be long lasting?
Or should the window sashes be painted black plus the aluminum windows? Thank you, Cathy. Your storm window and sash must be the same color. I have older bare aluminum storm windows.
Would I just paint the exterior face, or the tracks and all? I have black sashes on a red brick home. Yes the storm window must match otherwise the sash is painted to look nice for nothing. Those old triple track storms can be painted but not the tracks. New storm windows have low-e glass and are double track looking much better. Please see my storm window page.
Do shutters usually match the widow sash color or the casing or are they third or forth color including the siding color. Great question. In most cases where the window sash is a color other than white, the shutter will most likely match. This does not have to be though. If the house has a white window sash then the shutters would usually be an accent color. With a body color, trim color, and a sash color, the shutters would either be the sash color or a fourth accent color.
Quick question.. We have white interior plantation shutters, poorly painted white exterior casing, storm windows without paint, and the sashes are still natural. Over time we plan to restore each window as they still work great and are way better than any replacement.
Red brick exterior with navy exterior shutters. Now just stuck on how to handle the exterior. Great site btw! Thanks in advance! We purchased Jeldwen wood clad floor length window which does not open or close. The clad on the exterior is black and we really did not like it and want it to be white. What type paint is best to use for it although they do not recommend painting it?
Only if the window is plastic you need a special paint so you can use just regular exterior paint in gloss. With how renovation schedule and timelines are, we had to pick the windows way before we really thought hard about the paint.
Now that we are near the end of the renovation, we need to make a decision about the exterior paint colors and are thinking about painting the window sashes a different color. My question is: Do you have the same recommendation of not painting the sash a different color as the trim for the Woodwright series as you recommend above for the regular Anderson series? My understanding is that the Woodwright has a thicker sash and a more historic look than the regular series.
Hi Brian — here is a post about Anderson if you have not seen it already. For one the casing is only 3. As for the Woodwright being thicker, I have not researched that.
We chose the 3. The Woodwright windows match our original windows so well that a lay person would be hard pressed to point out the difference between the two even with side by side pictures. What casing would you have gone with? As long as it matches is what is important.
Manufacturers do say that dark paint can warp a plastic window. That is why I encourage people to order their windows pre-painted. However all paint stores carry a special paint for vinyl that has reflective properties in it. In this case you can use black paint on a white window.
As far as having to paint them sooner I would say you should get years with the paint. Keeping the original windows or ordering wood windows would avoid these problems.
I just realized that we actually went with 4. Not sure why I thought they were 3.
0コメント