3 Tips For Painting An Old Window
Posted on December 20, 2021
If your home is one of many that uses wooden, glazed windows, you’ve undoubtedly spent some time painting them. These windows are beautiful and built to last, but being constructed of wood, they do require maintenance. These types of windows are notorious for being difficult to paint, so today we’ll discuss three tips the pros use to make the job easier.
Painter’s Tape or Not?
This is probably the first question we ask when first presented with painting an old window. These windows are designed backward from most versions built today. In many new windows, the mulling is sandwiched between two pieces of glass. Most old windows, however, have one piece of glass between two pieces of mulling. This design makes cleaning and painting more difficult. So the real question is do you use painter’s tape on all of the glass, or just slap the paint on and scrape it off later? Many pros prefer to just allow it to dry and scrape it off later. Latex paints release from glass very easily, so although professionals don’t have much to scrape, many still prefer its speed.
Access the Condition of the Window
In many cases involving old windows, there may be damage, several coats of old paint, or both. Depending on the end goal, ask yourself how you want it to look. It’s very easy to go down a rabbit hole and try to make an old sash new when it would be faster and less expensive to just buy a new sash. If the window is in good condition and the paint isn’t flaking, often a quick clean and a couple of thin coats will do the trick. However, if the sash is in rough condition, the best option is usually scraping, wood filler, and sanding. If possible, many times this job is easier if the sash is removed from the window frame. This is a fair amount of work however, so many companies offer replacement sashes.
Easier Cleaning
Once you have the painting done, there’s inevitably some paint on the glass that must be removed. One painter’s trick is to use petroleum jelly. The idea is to put a very thin layer of petroleum jelly on the glass, just where it meets the wood. Then just paint normally and allow it to dry. The petroleum jelly prevents the dried paint from contacting the glass. Since the petroleum jelly doesn’t harden, often the dried paint can be wiped away instead of scraping.
