advice on painting a plastic window frame

[bob]

A google search shows some very mixed information ("key the surface"/"don't, whatever you do key the surface") so I thought I'd ask here to see if anyone has any first or good second-hand experience.

This is a white plastic window frame which overlooks our garden and is a highly conspicuous blight since it's a natural draw for the eye...we want to minimise the impact by painting the frame a dull colour compatible with the brickwork, the neighbour has already given his blessing.

Would keying be best? And/or are there specific primers which enhance adhesion? A non gloss finish would be prefered.

Many thanks for any insights....

[Ian]

Making an assumption that the window belongs to neighbour, is on a party wall overlooking your land...

Why not consider a timber framework attached to the brickwork around the window, masking the pastic (but not the glass), and paint THAT instead? It could then be removed at some time in the future if needed, without too much damage...?

[Cash]

Bob,

Don't use primers, undercoats or water based paints on the plastic - simply gloss.

From memory. Use ordinary, good quality solvent based gloss directly onto the plastic - after first washing it down with sugar soap and 'soft' scouring pad (this will form the 'key' for the paint) - and give it a couple of coats.

With regards to your original statement on the non-use of gloss, you could try an oil based egg-shell paint, but I don't know if that would be as successful as I've never used that on plastic.

Cash

[Andrew Gabriel]

You don't need any key - the paint solvent dissolves into the surface of the uPVC and effectively solvent-welds the paint on.

At least, this is the case with the high organic volatiles paints which became illegal to manufacture since January this year. I haven't tried their low organic volatiles replacements, and I could well imagine they might not work on uPVC as well. I did find some high organic volatiles stock in a paint merchants (Brewers) a few months ago by getting the guy to search the shelf, but it's probably getting impossible to find now, and you won't find it in any of the DIY outlets - they cleared out their stocks of it last year.

[Cash]

Andrew,

It's around 12 years now since I was involved with this sort of thing (I find other things to do in my retirement) and I take your point on the 'keying' of the plastic..

But if I remember correctly, one of the problems we used to have was a surface 'film' that appeared on some plastics and exuded by the plastic itself thus preventing good adhesion of the paint.

Again if I remember correctly, a wash down with sugar soap and aforesaid pad seemed to work a treat on those - and this was suggested by the paint suppliers technical rep who for a change, was right that time.

Cash

[bob]

many thanks to all for responses.

I think the added wooded frame though ingenious would be tricky. Our neighbour (yes it's a party wall) will be a stickler for having no disernable change whatsoever to his 'view' through the wiindow and this, a frame with fairly elaborate contours, would be difficult to mask without him seeing some slight visual effect, parallax problems etc.

I wondered about the keying and sugar soap makes sense so we'd go for that. Pity about the lack of highly solvent paints.

Oddly enough, we bumped into the neighbour today who is now huffing and puffing about the whole idea (lol) so it might be back to the drawing board anyway....

[Ian]

Build a trellis or a fence, on your side of the boundary line.

[A _L_ P]

Have a look at Freecycle. It's a yahoo group, or rather a whole lot of groups. 2 words - free and -cycle from recycle, People join then post OFFER: (something they no longer want) and WANTED: (Something they'd like) and it's great for leftovers and unwanted tools, furniture, all sorts of things that are too good to throw into the landfill that someone else may want. If you were to join and ask if anyone has some of that paint, well, you never know what leftovers someone has on a shelf in their shed.

A L P

[bob]

Yes, this has been a long-standing plan and is exactly what we're sorting out now. The OH gets a lot of help from her neighbour and doesn't want to upset him too much so that screen will have to be significantly forward from his window (sole light-providing window to his room).

A bit of a compromise really but if we get that sorted+ some darker colour on the window frame that should help.

>

[bob]

I'll check all that out - thanks for the tip.