painting windows
I ordered and installed some new white fiberglass Marvin windows for the front of my house. The plan was to paint both the new aluminum capping and the fiberglass exterior in a dark blue. Bay Ridge Windows and Doors said this would work fine. But now that the windows are installed, my contractor really does…
I ordered and installed some new white fiberglass Marvin windows for the front of my house. The plan was to paint both the new aluminum capping and the fiberglass exterior in a dark blue. Bay Ridge Windows and Doors said this would work fine. But now that the windows are installed, my contractor really does not believe that the windows should be painted. He says that paint will get into the cracks and stick the windows, and that the paint would not adhere very well to the fiberglass and would begin to peel within a few years. His advise is not to paint the windows; maybe paint the aluminum caps. This is unfortunate news because I ordered white windows in order to paint them; otherwise I would have ordered dark bronze color.
Does anyone have experience painting fiberglass or aluminum windows? Is it true that one shouldn’t paint these products? Why would the window dealer say I could do it?
Thanks.
Jeffrey
Marine paint is the best stuff for painting fiberglass. It is much more resilient than regular latex or oil based paints for this particular application.
That said, you need to take extra care in painting the windows to not stick up the windows. Carefully applied teflon lubricant (it’ll keep the paint and dirt from bonding to the moving surfaces and make the windows glide very easily for a few months) and some high quality painter’s tape (the green tape which is even better than the blue at not bleeding) will serve you well.
Would you consider using a marine paint made for fiberglass boats? Probably a urethane finish. I don’t claim to be an expert in this, but having grown up on the south shore of long Island, i remember a lot of people painting fiberglass boats.
Feel free to call me if you think I can be of help. My company is the Tinker’s Wagon. We are mostly interior work but if I can answer a question, why not.
Steve
thetinkerswagon.com
347-813-9635