Can you paint UPVC window frames?

[jackkelly]

Hi all,
We are moving into a new house in april, now unfortunately the vendors put in new windows 2 yrs ago and they are fine. But in the lounge they had them made so that the frame is white on the exterior and brown on the interior window and french doors to match the dark wood furniture in the room. Now I don't like this look and plan on having mid to light oak furniture and floor so I think it will look odd!
Can anyone suggest anything apart from replacing a window and french doors as could do without this expense at present, it was suggested you could paint the frames white is this true and what does it look like?
Many thanks :confused:

[ormus]

international paints make a upvc paint primer. i assume you can then use any gloss paint topcoat.
sorry but ive no idea what the result will look like though.

[annie-c]

Haven't done it myself but tried Google out of interest and found this: http://www.focusdiy.co.uk/stry/tl200...ry,diycategory

apparently you can get upvc primer as an undercoart if you want to paint yellowed upvc frames - presumably it would work for painting dark ones white??

[alanobrien]

Yes, BandQ sell white paint for UPVC windows.
Never tried it though.

[jackkelly]

Thanks got to be worth a try as can't have them the way they are, but might get an expert eg painter and decorator to do them rather than myself, as gloss is difficult to get right.

[nickj]

steer well clear of diy store paint
get it from a trade mechant

[misgrace]

I wouldnt gloss the PVC, I have done a few P&D jobs where the owner has tried to decorate themselves, and in the process got the pvc frames into a right mess, or the pvc is so old and hadnt been washed that the dirt is grimed in.

What I have done in the past, is undercoat with oilbase undercoat, then the next day when dry, apply a coat of satinwood, and honestly it does the trick.
The satinwood blends in better than the gloss would do,and it does look nice and fresh.

[unixgirluk]

Originally Posted by misgrace

I wouldnt gloss the PVC, I have done a few P&D jobs where the owner has tried to decorate themselves, and in the process got the pvc frames into a right mess, or the pvc is so old and hadnt been washed that the dirt is grimed in.

What I have done in the past, is undercoat with oilbase undercoat, then the next day when dry, apply a coat of satinwood, and honestly it does the trick.
The satinwood blends in better than the gloss would do,and it does look nice and fresh.

Why not gloss? Reason I ask is I have a modern metal front door that is white glossed with a stained glass insert with white pvc frame to it. The PVC is going rather yellow and I thought glossing it the same as the door would brighten it up?

[misgrace]

What I meant on my post and should have explained properly lol, was that you dont put gloss on straight away, undercoat it first to give it some base, then if you want gloss.
Personally satin looks better on PVC, but then I dont like gloss.

[bob_a_builder]

you say the internal window is brown, this would normally mean woodgrain I think ?
The woodgrain on my uPVC windows is in fact a metal coat over the upvc, so you might be trying to paint metal rather than upvc plastic
might affect the type of paint reqd

[jackkelly]

Hi thanks for that last post going to do some measuring up tomorrow so will ask the sellers then. Many thanks

[sue97]

Just wondering if you did this and how it turned out.

Thanks

[savemoney]

Sue Op hasn't been back online since 22-08-2009

[sue97]

Thanks savemoney.

Just wondering if anyone has done this successfully and would post photos

[ic]

Personally I think anything you do will look like a dreadful DIY bodge - plus it won't be reversible. Why not wait until you have the rest of the room decorated and the furniture in before deciding whether or not the current dark colour of the frame matches? By the time the windows are obscured by curtains, blinds and plants you'll probably find they fade into the background.

[eljaybe]

It seems there is a lot of confusion regarding painting PVC. I found an excellent resourse on painting plastic from Thai Plastic wood after a friend of mine made an excellent job of painting a garden office that was clad in PVC.
Sorry I had to remove the link as I am a new user but you can probably find the page if you visit thai plastic wood and then visit their guides page.
I hope this helps to clarify your options.

[kinda81]

Hi everyone.
I live in Toronto, Canada. I had the same problem (faded ivory windows). To change them- cost me a lot... I did a research and I found Aqua surtech. I ask them for an estimate (for my 21 windows in total) and after 1 month of waiting finally i got "magic" price - 3125$ plus tax. I was desperate but after another month of searching I found a company DM Neo paints.
I called them to get an estimate. In 2 days I already got an estimate on e-mail and surprise was that for the same 21 windows they ask 1650$ plus tax. In 2 weeks I got all my windows painted. It was over my expectation (they look brand new) and they are using the same paint as Aqua surtech.
So, it was unforgettable experience and I am very happy that I did this.
Good luck to everyone.

[auldaw]

Painting pvc is relatively easy to do. Colour needs to be sprayed and can be purchased in aerosol format also. Frame first needs to be cleaned using a specific solvent wipe which also acts as an adhesion promoter.
Two wipes are available: one for new pvc ( directly after protective film removal ) the other for " old pvc" Product has good UV resistance and can be used in exterior environments.
Material has a high solvent content and is intended for use by professional painters in well vented areas. Drying is very fast and frames are handleable in about 30 minutes

[phill99]

Originally Posted by auldaw

Painting pvc is relatively easy to do. Colour needs to be sprayed and can be purchased in aerosol format also. Frame first needs to be cleaned using a specific solvent wipe which also acts as an adhesion promoter.
Two wipes are available: one for new pvc ( directly after protective film removal ) the other for " old pvc" Product has good UV resistance and can be used in exterior environments.
Material has a high solvent content and is intended for use by professional painters in well vented areas. Drying is very fast and frames are handleable in about 30 minutes

And what is the purpose of digging up a three year old post?

[keystone]

Originally Posted by phill99

And what is the purpose of digging up a three year old post?

Post reads a bit spammy to me although it manages not to mention the product concerned does read like a copy / paste exercise. What I can't fathom, though is why on earth you would want to faff about spending eons masking most of the building up to spray paint when there are perfectly good UPVC paints about you can apply with a brush. C'est la vie.

Cheers