I knew this wasn't going to be an easy task. After finishing our renovations from changing our house from yellow to a white and grey we had ugly yellow windows left behind. We simply couldn't afford to change the windows.
Anyways so I started off spraying a small window to see how it would go and I made an absolute mess!
I used a entry level gun from bunnings which was really designed for outside / fence painting and I did not cover up anywhere near enough. I spent more time repainting the wall from overspray and cleaning the tiles with turps from the settled spray.
So I started asking some builder mates and got some advice and went on my next journey..
Whilst "spraying" sounds like fun it is all in the preparation. I have almost finished my house now and what I can say is that each window takes me a full day. There is about 7 hours of preparation and 1 hour of painting. Yep, joy!
But the finish is amazing.
This is what one of the windows looked like before.
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First thing I did was no more gaps around the edge of the window and the frame. I did this the day before.
Then next I used acetone to wipe down the whole window. I found in the living areas (near kitchen) there was a bit of oil build up.
Then I did a light sand with 120 grit over the whole window. Whilst this sounds painful I didn't really take that long. I really just sanded it back enough so it wasn't shiny anymore, just got it scratched back to a matt finish. No need to sand back to metal.
Then the taping started.
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I first used this blue tape right around the edges. The reason I did this is it is the last tape I want to take off after I'm finished.
It is easier to pull off the masking tape with paper quickly and then slowly peel off the blue tape and not accidently touch wet paint.
Note: You can see the window is a little lighter in colour from sanding back.
This part took most part of the day. You do not want to take shortcuts here.
Then covered the floors. Yep the whole room. Might be going overboard? but again I don't want to be spending hours wiping things down with turps! Use good drop sheets at the front near the window and anything at the back. I also covered my skirting and doors.
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With spraying it will get EVERYWHERE. Spend the time before is much easier than cleaning it up afterwards, and dealing with an angry partner..
For the primer I used this stuff. One thing to note, before you spray make sure the room is well lit.
Also wear pants and a long sleeve top. I also wore a hat and mask. The less paint on me the better!
I made sure I had turps and a rag outside as soon as I finished. I also made sure not to answer my phone or touch anything! I just made sure I had stocked up on everything (masking tape etc) as I didn't want to make the mid day bunnings run.
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I tried an etch primer but I couldn't get the mix right and it didn't stick to the window well. I got advice to use some EPG stuff but I didn't want to experiment further. This stuff is thin and stuck on really well. Using a spray can did have a lot of overspray but the room was prepped well. I first did a very light coat, let it dry for 30 mins then did another two coats. I pretty much made sure that I couldn't see any of the previous yellow colour after priming. I went very slowly over the windows. I didn't want any runs.
For the main coat I used a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun.
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This one is a Fuji Mini Mite (around $900).
https://www.spraychief.com.au/fuji-hvlp ... -semi-pro2
https://www.spraychief.com.au/fuji-hvlp ... uji-mm2903
I believe you can rent a similar thing at a reputable paint shop or if you have a compressor you can buy a gun.
Just remember DO NOT use an outdoor style gun.
For the main coat I used a Dulux oil based paint and did a 60/40 thinner mix. This seemed to work well for me. The colour was called White on White but I had a dab of grey added just to make the white a little less stronger. I did this because there is still rumours that oil based paints turn yellow. I think with today's technology it wont happen and I have some windows one year old that get quite a bit of sun and they look fine still.
With the gun on the back there is a knob to adjust how much paint to come out. I had it on about 20% out. I found spraying less was much better and whilst it took longer I wanted to finish on the same day. I didn't want to be sanding back runs and applying another coat later.
This is after the second coat is done.
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As soon as I finished the second coat I went straight outside and pulled the gun apart and cleaned it thoroughly with turps. If you buy or rent one of these things you must treat them well. They are expensive...
I waited about an hour and then started pulling everything off. I liked pulling the newspaper off on the same day as I didn't want to risk it drying and paper being permanently stuck on my windows. You have to be very careful with doing on the same day. Using my approach above worked well as I slowly pulled the paper off in small parts and then slowly peeled back the blue tape.
Here is the finished product (another room).
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and another
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The finish came up very well and I am impressed.
I still need to do the fly screens but I am going to clear out the shed and do them in there.
I am sure there may be faster ways but this method worked well for me. I had a couple of painters come through to quote it and one said no and another said he would use a brush.
It is definitely hard work and you need alot of patience but it does pay off!
I hope this post helps anyone out there willing to give this a go