casement windows

[Juju]

We need to get on with painting our windows both inside and outside. They're mostly old timber casements but on two of the windows I think the opening parts are metal. They have several layers of paint but they're very thin and fragile. Presumably it's ok to use the same paint on timber and metal? Any particular issues I should be aware of when painting metal windows and would it be better to strip them first?
I haven't decided on the paint yet - I would love to use linseed oil paint on the timber but I don't relish the prospect of all the paint stripping and, with living on a busy road, we'd have a problem of dust and dirt sticking to every layer of paint... Any other recommendations for good exterior environmentally-friendly paint?

 

[Ian Bond]

Holkham's website says:

When painting metalwork substitute this oil coat with a coat of Holkham Linseed Iron Primer.

However, I've never used this stuff on metal myself.

I've absolutely no intention of stripping my windows back to bare timber before using the linseed paint. There really is no need, unless the windows are jammed solid with paint and won't open.

If the original (probably lead based) paint layers underneath are OK, I can't see any point removing them just to put more paint on top. Plus, it's very poor conservation practice to remove all traces of historic decoration.

Holkham also recommend using heat to strip paint from the window, but it sounds impractical to me - up a ladder with a hot air gun? Trying to avoid breaking the old glass? There's no way I'd risk it, and I can't take the sashes out for weeks on end whilst the various coats of paint dry either.

Having said all that, the F&B paint I used has refused to stick to the glazing putty in places and peeled off after a year. I've redone it twice now, and I'm not going to give it another chance.

So I'm just going to thoroughly sand back the flaky/loose paint to a sound surface (do this wet if old lead paint to avoid dust) and re-coat with the linseed paint.

I've got all sorts of windows on this house: leaded fanlights, inward and outward opening casements, horizontal and vertical sliding sashes. Most had been neglected for decades and all were nailed/painted shut. The only rot was to the sills and and lower sash joints, which I've repaired. Perhaps these more vulnerable parts could be taken back to bare timber if you really want to do the best possible job?

I'm hoping that the linseed paint will be more durable than the oil alkyd stuff, and at least will stick to the linseed putty better. I don't want to be back painting the windows again for the 3rd year in a row!!!!!

Which leads me to my last point - I'm a perfectionist and agonized over the perfect finish to my windows, fretting over specks of dust / flies etc. Waste of time - the windows get dirty very quickly here anyway, in a busy town. You can always lightly sand and clean between coats anyway. So this time I'll just concentrate on getting good surface preparation and getting several thin coats of paint on to give the best possible protection, for a reasonable amount of time and effort.