How do I prevent windows from being painted shut?

[Boatman]

G'day,

I am repainting our old house. We have wooden sash type windows. I am putting on an oil base primer and two coats of finish. Does anyone have any tips, or a method to employ, to avoid painting the windows shut or minimize sticking,

Thanks,

Boatman

[Joseph Meehan]

First choose a paint with low blocking characteristics. I know I have seen the suggestions about how to do the actual painting to help avoid problems but I don't recall the procedure. I only had to paint windows once and I did follow those instructions and used good low blocking paint (I believe that oil is not all that good at low blocking, but I could be wrong) and it worked well.

[Colbyt]

Make sure they are all moving really well before you start. The sticking is caused by paint getting between the movable sash and the 1/4-3/8" stops (the part that creates the channel for the sash to slide in). Remove all old paint from the stops and wax them with paraffin before you start to paint. Whatever seepage you do get will be far easier to scrape off if it is stuck to wax and not to wood. Also try to put the thinnest layer possible at the side of the sash where it meets the stops. Stop and work the windows up and down about every 30 minutes during the day while painting and do not close them completely at the end of the first day. They are far easier to break loose with a downward motion then an up motion.

Some will stick no matter what you do.

Have fun.

Colbyt

[Boatman]

Thanks. This looks like the easiest way to solve my problem. Will add your comments to my personal home repair knowlwedgebase.

Thanks again.

B.

[Ken Carlson]

The way I do it is to completely disassemble the window. For double-hung windows, take off the stops, remove the lower sash, then remove the parting stops, then remove the upper sash. Paint each piece separately and then reassemble. Of course whenever I do this, it is on an old window that already has a zillion coats of paint on it and is already painted shut, so I usually strip it to bare wood before priming and painting. If it was lead paint on the window, then this is also a way to remove the lead without having to replace the window. (Which IMO, is important to do with an old house to retain its character.) This also gives you a chance to replace the sash cords, and perhaps plane the sashes to fit the opening in case the jambs are no longer square, which is common in old houses. It takes forever to do all this, but the window is as good as new when you are done.

Ken

[Garry Conn]

I guess paint them open and then they will be stuck open instead of closed... sorry I had to do it. :)

[evolie]

Oh, come on now........ Lets be real !!!!! I swear some of the questions posted on here are just plain rediculous.

For your answer....... OPEN THE WINDOWS (DUH!!!!).

[Boatman]

If I just painted the window frame and put the window in the up position to dry, it would seal to the upper runners in that position. These are old sash type windows, about 150 years old, not modern tip outs.

I used Colbyt's suggestions about scraping and waxing the channels, then took care when applying paint. I left the windows partly open and checked for binding after half an hour. The results were excellent. They actually run better now than originally.

B.

P.S. Ridiculous is not spelled with an 'e' in it.

[nospambob]