How To Paint An Old Window

The window on the side of our garage is one of the first things you see when you walk in our backyard. It was faded green, chippy, paint was on the glass, and it had a broken pane. It was sad. It was not a huge project to tackle and yet it sat there that way for 6 years. Sometimes the little things on my list get skipped so I can do the more exciting jobs. Painting windows is not as fun as other things. But when faced with unemployment, sometimes the big fun things like bathroom renovations have to come to a screeching halt and smaller, more affordable projects get a chance to be crossed off the (giant, ever growing) to-do list.

Sorry for the low quality picture. I forgot to take a real before shot (head hung in shame) so I found one on my cell phone that had the window in the background and enlarged it. The fuzzy picture actually makes the window look better!

Let’s do a little side by side comparison……

I have teamed up with 3MDIY.com again to show you the way to repaint an old window. I went a little further and made it all perdy :)

Here is what you will need:

*Paint Scraper * 3M Tekk ProtectionGoggles *Paint Brush *High Quality Exterior Paint & Prime

*Wire Brush * 3M Tekk Protection Respirator *Paint Thinner *ScotchBlue™ Painter’s Tape

*3M Wood Filler *Paintable Window Caulk *3M Advanced Abrasives Sandpaper *Gloves

(Not pictured) *3M Lead Check Kit *Paper Towels

The first steps are here in this handy dandy video. I shot it in two days in 100+ degree weather while our air conditioner was broke. It was miserable. So enjoy watching it while you are sitting in your air conditioned house :) I recommend doing a project like this on a cooler day…..

There is a lot of important information in the video. Plus you should watch so you can check out my sweet farmer’s tan. :P

(if it is blurry, adjust the settings to make it 350p or higher by clicking the gear icon under the video)

(many snow cones were consumed while filming this video)

Okay so now that you have tested for lead, removed the paint from the glass, removed loose caulk, scraped off the paint, and sanded, you are ready for the next steps!

*If you had to remove any or all of the caulk, you will need to re-caulk the window now. Make sure you use an exterior window caulk that is paintable. And make sure you have plenty of paper towels handy! It can be messy.

*If your window has any hole or cracks then use a sandable, paintable, stainable putty. Let it dry completely and light sand it to smooth it out.

*Tape off the windows to protect the wall and the glass. I know after all this prep work you will want to tape it off quickly. But go slow enough that you have all the glass (even the little corners) taped and rub the tape to make sure it is all the way on there (especially edges). This will make it so you do not have to go back with a razor blade or paint scraper.

*Use a quality primer that will bond well. When the primer is dry, paint it the desired color. If you are painting the window a darker color you can have your primer tinted at the Home improvement store (and by “home improvement store” we all know I mean Home Depot :) ).

I built simple shutter and a custom window box to finish off the look. I didn’t take a lot of pictures of the process since I had so many projects I was working on at the time. If you want me to throw a tutorial up let me know.

Because the window ledge is slanted I had to make the box a little different that a regular square box. I really love the x detail in the front!

A big thanks to 3MDIY.com for providing the products I needed for this project. Y’all know I do not share products unless I LOVE them, here on my blog. And I love theirs :)

This post is a collaboration with 3M DIY. To keep up-to-date on projects, products and sampling visit 3MDIY.com.

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