Painting PVC Internal Window Sills

Terrysdelight

Hi


Has anyone painted pvc internal window sills.


Any recommendations for preparing the area and good products?


Many thanks
Terrysdelight

TheCyclingProgrammer

I've painted the entire inside of a dark brown woodgrain uPVC window with great success, it just takes time and patience and some care. You'll need a tin of Zinsser BIN primer, your top coat and depending on what your top coat is, possibly some undercoat. In my case I was using acrylic eggshell for my top coat so I also used some Leyland Acrylic Primer/Undercoat. This is how I did it:

1. Give the uPVC a good clean, I used PVC cleaner but warm soapy water will probably do. Dry them off.
2. You could optionally give it a light rub with some very fine grit wet and dry paper or some fine steel wool but I didn't find this necessary.
3. Give the whole thing a coat of Zinsser BIN. It flashes over very quickly so don't keep brushing over the same bit or you'll make a mess. Just concentrate on getting it on neatly and quickly. It will look terrible at this stage but that's OK.
4. You'll be able to put a second coat of Zinsser on after an hour or so. Repeat as before but try and get a more even finish this time. It will be looking a bit better now.
5. Give the whole thing a light sand with some 120-180 grit sandpaper. The Zinsser sands very well but don't go mad, you don't want to take it all off. You're just trying to smooth it out and get rid of any lumpy bits or runs.
6. At this stage I gave mine a coat of acrylic primer/undercoat. Once its dry, you'll have to use your judgement on whether you need a second undercoat but if you're painting technique is OK it should be ready for top-coating.
7. Two top-coats with a very light sand between coats.

Hope that helps.

Terrysdelight

TheCyclingProgrammer wrote: »

I've painted the entire inside of a dark brown woodgrain uPVC window with great success, it just takes time and patience and some care. You'll need a tin of Zinsser BIN primer, your top coat and depending on what your top coat is, possibly some undercoat. In my case I was using acrylic eggshell for my top coat so I also used some Leyland Acrylic Primer/Undercoat. This is how I did it:

1. Give the uPVC a good clean, I used PVC cleaner but warm soapy water will probably do. Dry them off.
2. You could optionally give it a light rub with some very fine grit wet and dry paper or some fine steel wool but I didn't find this necessary.
3. Give the whole thing a coat of Zinsser BIN. It flashes over very quickly so don't keep brushing over the same bit or you'll make a mess. Just concentrate on getting it on neatly and quickly. It will look terrible at this stage but that's OK.
4. You'll be able to put a second coat of Zinsser on after an hour or so. Repeat as before but try and get a more even finish this time. It will be looking a bit better now.
5. Give the whole thing a light sand with some 120-180 grit sandpaper. The Zinsser sands very well but don't go mad, you don't want to take it all off. You're just trying to smooth it out and get rid of any lumpy bits or runs.
6. At this stage I gave mine a coat of acrylic primer/undercoat. Once its dry, you'll have to use your judgement on whether you need a second undercoat but if you're painting technique is OK it should be ready for top-coating.
7. Two top-coats with a very light sand between coats.

Hope that helps.

That is absolutely fantastic - thank you. I actually have an unopened tin of Zinnser and because I know the product is so good, I was planning on using it to give it a go.


Thanks a lot - you have given me confidence.

TheCyclingProgrammer

No problem, just remember it WILL look terrible after that first coat of Zinsser goes on, but the second goes on much better and once its undercoated it will be ready to paint like anything else. Results dependent on your brush skills I suppose!

brooklyn07

yep another vote for Zinsser bin. I just had to paint 10 windows and 2 pvc doors in my house as they were all dark woodgrain colour which is nice outside but makes everything dark inside.


I used a cheapo exterior satin wood paint on top of the Zinsser as it means if you accidentally leave your windows open and its raining then you can just wipe it off.


Easy to clean too.


Good luck!

TheCyclingProgrammer

Oh, a few more tips if you've never used Zinsser BIN before. If you're painting a lot, try not to leave the lid off for too long as it will start to skin over and go gloopy as the solvents evaporate.

Wrap brushes up in plenty of cling film and plastic bags and they'll be usable for a few days - as soon as they get fresh paint on them they will soften up again.

The brushes will eventually set rock hard (I have about 4 of them still covered in the stuff) but I'm lead to believe a good soak in meths overnight will clean them up nicely.