What is the process for preparing and painting old wood windows?

Question

Is it necessary to scrape all old paint off? Any particular tools that work better? Dremmel etc.

Answer 1

Only if the paint is peeling does it need to be removed.

If the wood is hard, a wire brush on a drill or dremel wil work well. Soft wood, You may be better off with a chemical peel. It can be more work, but you won;t damage the wood

Answer 2

You can also use a heat stripping gun to lift the paint. Be careful with the heat, though - the paint bubbles quickly and it's easy to burn the wood underneath. Use a putty knife or scraper to lift and remove the paint.

If the windows are double-hung, I recommend using only a varnish on the vertical inside pieces where the sashes slide, to allow the sashes to move easily. Paint will build up a thicker layer and inhibit smooth operation.

I also advise using an alkyd (oil-based) primer on all the bare wood. It will be absorbed into the wood pores much better than a latex paint.

Answer 3

When we've painted, we just scraped off all the old paint and kind of made the old and new line of paint smooth so that when you paint you can't tell where the mark was. You use a scraper (nothing electrical) to lift the old paint. If it's white on white when it should only take one coat. The latex is shiny and easier to wash but when the paint gets old it comes off in strips. The semi-gloss is ok to wash and it's a dull flat paint.

Answer 4

Be careful with old paint because it may be lead-based. There are lead testing kits available all over to check if you have lead-based paint on there. If so you don't want to remove it without proper protective equipment and you will have to have it disposed of since it is hazardous waste.

If it's not lead-based, don't remove it unless you need to check for rot, just sand and repaint. Thermal paint removers work well as do some of the chemical ones, and these reduce the amount of sanding and scraping you have to do later.