Before you restore an old window frame, you should take a close look at the underlying surface. If it’s a wood frame, it should be free of dry rot, sponginess, and other signs of structural decay before you start painting. If you have dry rot, excessive moisture, or clear indications that the wood is decayed, you may need to apply epoxy resin— or completely replace the window frame.
If all looks well, you can grab your paint brush and move on to the fun part—actually painting the window frames.
5 Steps to Painting Window Frames
Perform a Lead Swab Test
Gather all your tools and supplies, and if your home was built before 1978, start by grabbing your lead swab testing kit. It’s critical to exercise lead paint safety and figure out whether the existing paint bed contains lead before you paint over it. Lead is a toxic metal that can lead to serious health problems when it’s inhaled or ingested, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. It’s especially harmful to young kids. Fortunately, testing kits are available in most home improvement stores, or you can hire a professional lead testing company.
Scrape and Remove Old Material
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Next, using a fresh razor blade, cut around the glass edge of the window first. This will create a breakpoint for the old material once you start scraping it with a putty knife or paint scraper. Working in sections, remove the visibly loose pieces of paint that come up easily. Collect these pieces carefully and discard them.
Sand the Edges
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Once you’ve cleaned up and removed the bubbling or other loose pieces of material from the window frame, you’re going to feather the edges of the old paint. Be careful not to brush the glass and scratch it with sandpaper. You should lightly sand and smooth the transition between the raw wood of the window frame and the old paint. Your goal is to create a surface that will hold paint without creating an edge for mold and dirt to seep in, eventually leading to paint failure. Be sure to vigorously sand raw wood to let the primer soak in.
Prime the Frame
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After preparing the wood frame, the most important step is a solid primer coat. You’ll want to saturate the substrate with a good quality primer—preferably oil-based—and cover up both the raw wood and old paint material. This will create a suitable base coat for the paint finish and protect the underlying wood in the process.
Paint the Frame
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The cherry on top of any painting project is always the finish coat. Swipe on a few paint layers with your paint brush while paying close attention to the transition between wood and glass. You’ll want to float a smooth, rolled edge to create a barrier between the two.
Painter’s tape can help you out here, but now is a good time to practice your skills at drawing a clean, straight line with a brush. The organic nature of the job versus using painter’s tape will create a better edge seal.
DIY Painting Window Frames vs. Hiring a Pro
Assuming that you know your way around a paint brush, painting a window frame is a job that can be DIY’d. If you’re new to the field and don’t want to deal with the scraping and priming (or you’d rather just save yourself some time) it’s fine to hire a professional painter.
Additional Questions About Painting Window Frames
What kind of paint do you use on window frames?
When it comes to paint application, there are two steps in the process: priming and painting. You’ll want to use a high-quality primer as the base coat and an exterior paint for the finish to protect your real estate investment. For window frames, you’ll want to use a satin or semi-gloss paint sheen. Flat and matte don’t do well against the elements in the long run because they can attract mold and dirt.
Can you paint vinyl window frames?
Painting vinyl window frames can be done with the right paint and proper preparation of the substrate. However, the edges that encompass the slide rail of the windows cannot be painted without sealing up the window, making it an extraordinarily difficult procedure and not one well-suited for the casual DIY painter. If your vinyl windows have faded out to a point where you’re thinking of painting them, it’s likely that you’d benefit from having a window company replace them entirely.
Can you paint aluminum and vinyl window frames?
The same principle applies to painting aluminum or vinyl window frames. You’ll still need to deal with the slide rails that hold the movable windows. You cannot paint these as it’ll seal in the window, rendering it immovable if you try to open it.
When should I replace versus repair a window frame?
In general, if you have wood window frames that need painting you should consider repairing them. The nostalgia and high-end nature of wooden windows often outweighs the costs of remediation. If you have vinyl or aluminum windows, it’s likely a matter of deciding if you can afford the cost of replacement windows.
Tennessee-based journalist Kristin Luna has worked as a writer and editor for 20 years, contributing to such publications as Southern Living, This Old House, Real Simple, Parade, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and various other titles.
Tennessee-based journalist Kristin Luna has worked as a writer and editor for 20 years, contributing to such publications as Southern Living, This Old House, Real Simple, Parade, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and various other titles.
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