Repaint wooden windows - DIY instructions

• Grinding or grinding
• High quality tools
  • Natural or plastic bristles
  • Cost of tools and material
• Work up and paint wooden windows
  • 1. Check seals
  • 2. Repair cracks and damage
  • 3. Protect discs and hinges
  • 4. Sand wood and strip off
  • 5. Priming and painting
  • 6. Reassemble the window

Wooden windows are still very popular today because of their natural material. However, these window frames are significantly more expensive in terms of care. In a wooden window, it is not done alone with the cleaning. From time to time, the frame must be completely sanded off. Then the wooden window has to be repainted. Here you will find the instructions for painting.

If the old paint is badly weathered and damaged, it is usually not enough to sand the wood just a little bit. You have to sand the paint completely. Helpful is a delta sander, which thanks to the triangular shape gets better into the corners than an orbital sander. When painting the wooden windows, attention must also be paid to the quality of the paints and brushes. What steps you will have to do before painting, if you want to renovate the windows perfectly, we show you here in the instructions.

You need this:

• brush
• Deltaschleifer
• sandpaper
• lacquer bowl
• puller
• caulking gun
• Lacquer colored or clear
• stain
• masking tape
• silicone
• wood filler

Grinding or grinding

It's not enough to just sand over the paint. With high-quality wooden windows, however, there are always places that you can hardly reach. Many do-it-yourselfers resort to a hot-air blower that melts away the paint. But at a window this is a very bad idea. On the one hand, the insulating glass can be damaged by the heat and on the other hand, the seals of the window could melt away under your hands. Even the grease on the hinges will dry out or burn away, damaging the hinges. The smallest evil is the squeaking of the hinges.

At the places you can not reach with the delta sander, you should therefore use Abbeize. But be careful not to breathe them or use them in a closed room.

Tip: To repeat the painting of the wooden windows at longer intervals, you should use a special care milk to clean the frames after cleaning the windows. With such a care milk, the chipping of the color layers for a long time is prevented.

High quality tools

For a wooden window frame you should not use a paint roller . But even with the brushes, the quality of the subsequent result is crucial. Black bristles that stick in a white finish are not only ugly. They also pull the moisture under the paint. So all the work that you had when painting was useless. There are big differences in quality. So find a set of brushes for less than five euros, you should leave this set beautiful in the hardware store.

References to the quality of a paintbrush can be found in these facts:

• Bristles bordered with sheet metal
• Bristle length - too long bristles can not work properly
• in the ink chamber is a narrow strip of cardboard
• For particularly high-quality brushes, the strip is made of wood

Tip: Buy a special window brush for painting the window frames. This has an oblique cut of the bristles. This makes the job easier as it allows you to perfectly paint the corners and narrow strips of the window frames.

Natural or plastic bristles

All in all, it's hard to say today that natural bristles are better than plastic bristles. It depends on what kind of paint or glaze you want to apply. Wild boar bristles or so-called Chinese bristles absorb a great deal of color and can thus achieve a long uniform brushing track and a soft color gradient. Although they are very absorbent, but also sensitive to paint thinners and synthetic resin paint. However, if you use acrylic varnish, natural bristles are a good choice. As the acrylic varnish is usually thinned for better processing, the natural bristle can store it better and give it back evenly.

Tip: When applying a thick-layer glaze, a brush with plastic bristles is well suited. But you should pay attention to artificially slotted tips, as these facilitate the color absorption of the bristles. If the artificial bristles do not have any tips, this is a sign of an inferior quality of the brush.

A paintbrush that stands out as one for everything, so to speak, is today made of mixed bristles. This unites the positive properties of both bristle materials. In addition, the mixed bristles are easier to clean. Above all, if you do not want to use the brush only once, you should prefer a brush with mixed bristles to paint your wooden windows.

• Natural bristles of pig bristles
• Plastic bristles made of nylon, polyester or silverprene
• Mixed bristles made of natural and synthetic bristles

Cost of tools and material

You get a delta sander for about 30 euros. The small device is really practical and helpful for painting wooden windows.

• Paint from about 10 euros
• Caulking gun from 5 Euro
• Silicone from 2 euros
• Painter's crepe from 3 euros
• Paint brush from 8 Euro
• Wooden putty from 6 euros

Work up and paint wooden windows

If you want to refurbish the windows, the first question is after the color design. You have the choice between lacquer and thick film glaze. In the glaze, the structure and grain of the wood is retained to a certain extent. But at the same time, the glaze can not protect the wood so well. Therefore, after about two years you have to approach the window frames again with a brush and a delta sander. If you wait too long to repair a weathered glaze, the wood can be irreparably damaged.

Tip: When using a glaze, it is important that the thick-film glaze is equipped with UV protection. Since this UV protection is usually achieved on the basis of iron oxide, this is not sufficiently possible in the bright glazes. The iron oxide causes in the glaze a reddish color, which will always be visible even after drying.

Opaque paints are a better protection for the wood. However, they sometimes have to be applied in at least three layers. Especially with a colored change of the wood a primer is necessary. No matter which type you want to use, whether thick-layer glaze or paint, you should shop for high-quality products. So you do not have to work up the wooden windows later.

Tip: acrylic has many advantages, especially when painting wooden windows. Acrylic is still relatively flexible and elastic after drying. So it does not break so fast in places where the wood works. This also means that the paint does not crumble when the windows strike once in drafts.

• Dickschichtlasur
• Synthetic enamel
• acrylic paint

1. Check seals

All rubber seals in the window frame must be checked to see if they are still agile and intact. If gaskets are hardened and porous they should be replaced before they dissolve completely. Also, the seals between glass and frame must be checked during the renovation of the windows. Brittle putty should also be removed and renewed. The silicone sealings may have lodged on the inside of the mold and mold. Therefore, the silicone seal should be removed as a precaution at the slightest notice.

Tip: You should already remove the damaged seals. However, you should replace the replacement gaskets and silicone seals only after the completion of your renovation of the windows.

2. Repair cracks and damage

You will not see any damage in the wood until the window has been sanded down. However, you should first check the wooden frame for gross damage. Maybe it is no longer possible to save the frame of the window. Then you would have done the work with the grinding in vain. Simple cracks should also be filled with wood putty before sanding. This has the advantage that you can perfectly adapt the repaired surface to the old wooden surface during sanding. The wood putty should always be bought matching the wood color.

Tip: If larger holes or cracks are present, you should fill them in two steps. So the wood putty can dry better. In addition, the putty often shrinks when drying something, so you usually have to rework with wood putty anyway anyway. Before you apply a second layer of putty, sand the first well-dried layer a little with sandpaper. So the new putty better adheres to the already dry Holzkitt.

Scrape the cracks with a chisel so that the new wooden putty hits solid hard wood and can hold on to it. Wide cracks or surface damage should also be treated with a wire brush. Before you can start the next step, the wooden putty must first be completely dried.

3. Protect discs and hinges

Do not just stick a narrow edge of the discs with a painter's crepe. Often, this operation is recommended only after grinding or pickling. But with the edge of the sanding sheets under the delta sander you can damage and scratch the glass. For the same reason you should cover the hinges and closing mechanisms in the window frame with painter's crepe. In addition, you would not then stick these with the paint. The cover on the handle can be removed many times. So you come under this cover in the works and it is later no paragraph visible.

4. Sand wood and strip off

If possible, you should unhook the wings of the windows before sanding. This makes it easier to approach all corners and corners of the wooden windows. Make sure that all remains of the old paint are removed from the wood. Any small residue will be visible later on the newly painted window. This is not only ugly, it also ultimately reduces the value of the house if the windows are badly painted. For thick residues of the old paint, sand with a 60 grit in the first sanding cycle. Afterwards or if the paint residue is low, you can continue with the 80 grit. Only just before the completion should be sanded again with 100-grit sandpaper.

Tip: If you want or need to use paint strippers, make sure that you can remove them with a spatula or puller. With a hot air blower you can not work as described above, as the window can be damaged. In addition, you should always protect yourself when using paint strippers. Mouthguard and goggles are therefore mandatory. In addition, you should wear rubber gloves that are resistant to chemicals.

5. Priming and painting

If you want to apply a covering color that covers any wood grain, such as when the window frames are to be painted blue or white. Then you should first apply a primer on the wood, which covers the grain and ensures a good hold of the new paint. Then the first layer of paint is spread thinly on the wood with a brush. When using acrylic varnish you should not use a special primer, but only dilute the varnish with water for the first coat. At first, only add a little water and stir well. If the paint is still too thick, you can stir in a little more water.

Tip: If you do not want the color to be opaque later, you do not need to use a primer. It is then sufficient to apply the glaze in two strokes with a brush. But keep in mind that the glaze does not last as long as a varnish. Maybe a clear coat is better suited in this case. The clearcoat protects the wood considerably better and at the same time offers a natural wood look. But even with this you should pay attention to a sufficient UV protection.

6. Reassemble the window

If you have hung the window sashes before sanding, they can be used again after the paint has been thoroughly dried. You should also retract the possibly defective seals. Likewise, the silicone seals on the discs. If the paint is really dry, the painter's crepe can also be removed. You may have to clean the windows as they will not come out clean from the renovation. However, you should not use a glass cleaner, but only soft cloths and lukewarm water with dishwashing detergent.

Tips for quick readers

• Pay attention to brush quality and combine with choice of finish
• Check seals between glass and frame
• Check rubber seals for their condition
• Fill cracks and damage with wood putty
• Mask discs well with a painter's crepe
• Protect hinges and mechanism with painter's crepe
• Sand wood thoroughly and clean
• Use acrylic paint and thin slightly
• Apply primer to the wooden frame
• In addition, finely grind in between
• Paint paint in two passes
• replace defective seals
• Replace the window sash
• Clean discs gently
• apply after cleaning cleansing milk