How to Paint a Window Frame

Painting around a window is tricky. You could just paint it all sloppily now and then spend a few hours scraping paint off the glass later, but why not do a professional job the first time?

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Tape over or remove any hardware that should not be painted such as catches, hinges, etc.

2. Clean the glass before you paint to keep dust and grime from getting into the paint.

3. Tape off the window, leaving a small gap between the frame and the glass. You want a tiny bit of paint to seal that join between the two.

4. Paint double-hung windows starting with the lower sash on the outside and the upper sash on the inside. Paint a casement window while it's open.

5. Begin with the horizontal cross-pieces (called muntins), then do the top and bottom horizontal pieces.

6. Now paint the vertical cross-pieces, if there are any.

7. Paint the top, bottom and sides, in that order, working from the center outward.

8. Finish with the window molding.

9. Peel the tape off the glass when the paint is nearly dry to the touch, but don't wait until it's completely dry. It may peel the paint up with it if it's too dry.

10. Remove any accidental drips on the glass with a paint scraper.

Tips & Warnings

• Use an angled brush to paint the muntins for easier paint application.
• Make sure that you are able to slide a window before the paint dries in the tracks.

on 6/30/2006 If you must use tape, stick with a name brand, and pay close attention to the stickiness rating or any other such indications. I sometimes apply a strip of tape to a wall, then remove it, then use it on the window. This seems to make the tape slightly less sticky, but still effective.

If you don't want to use tape but still want a clean line, try using the edge of your razor/scraper or an X-Acto knife to score the paint all the way around the window. I use the edge of the window as a guide, just watch out for gouging.

After the paint is cut all the way around the glass, very slowly run your scraper parallel to the edge you are scraping, so that one edge of the scraper is following right next to your cut line. Avoid the scraping up and down motion, as this will make the line jagged. It should, if all goes well, come off in one smooth motion. The key is to use the same care and diligence you would use while painting with a brush.

on 11/22/2005 I use the blue painter's tape, it peels off easily (as long as I don't leave it on more than a couple of days). I prefer to let the paint get pretty dry so there is no chance of finding a puddle of wet paint in the corner or bottom. As far as scraping the glass, I use a razor blade scraper, but it is really hard to get nice straight lines (about 1/32 inch from the edge), so I still prefer tape.

on 11/22/2005 I found it much harder to peel off masking tape than to just scrape the paint off the glass. I'm not sure if I left it masked too long, but I never got all the tape off. Scraping the paint off the glass was almost effortless.