Stripping paint from pine bay window and front door

[Feltwell]

Don’t whatever you do use linseed putty or oil if you’re going to use water based paint like the Bedec MSP. It won’t stick to it.

I was quite a proponent of linseed paint, under which you can indeed use linseed putty and coat the wood in linseed oil - but I’ve moved away from it. Firstly, I’ve had durability problems with it, especially on horizontal surfaces . Secondly, the drying times are just too long to be practical,especially on sash restorations . It works well to preserve the wood but I’m told that a good microporous paint also lasts a long time and keeps the wood in good order, and the drying times make it massively easier touse.

I’m a little sceptical about how long a repair with wood hardener and a 2 pack filler will last - the epoxy kits are much better I think.

 

[malcolm]

I’m a little sceptical about how long a repair with wood hardener and a 2 pack filler will last - the epoxy kits are much better I think.

About 2 years! I'm having a proper go at the window I patched up after I first moved in. The filler was fine but the wood was wet behind the filler. The modern paints and sealants had cracked enough to let water in but not enough to let it out again.

The window is better than I remembered and only neds one bay sill (unfotunately a curved one).

 

[jsmac]

Feltwell - Is there a particular brand of epoxy filler kit that you would recommend? There is a bewildering array of choice out there and like most things I assume that some are better than others.

Also, as we're using solvent based paint on much of the exterior joinery would it be preferable to use linseed oil putty to fill any cracks and a light coating of linseed oil before painting?

Many thanks.

 

[kreyszig]

Feltwell - Is there a particular brand of epoxy filler kit that you would recommend? There is a bewildering array of choice out there and like most things I assume that some are better than others.
Many thanks.

Feltwell mentioned using the Timbabuild system in his window repair thread, hope that helps

 

[Feltwell]

He did indeed - I bought mine from sealantsonline.co.uk . There are several similar systems on the market though. If you Google "Chemfix Timbabuild" you'll find quite a few instructional videos from the manufacturer. It is a bit expensive to start with, you need the special twin barrel applicator gun as well as the primer/hardener and your choice of epoxy (they do 2 types - a thinner one for smaller depths and a thicker one for larger depths) - but it's giving me good results so far.

It's a wood repair system rather than a filler as such, so the epoxy can be used to splice new pieces of timber in or reattach loose mouldings etc as well as just as a filler. Note the epoxy is much harder to sand down than a conventional 2 part filler, so go easy when applying it - and it's better sanded by hand.

I have in the past successfully used linseed putty as a filler and linseed oil to coat bare timber, but only before painting with linseed paint - not normal oil paint. I've moved away from using linseed paint now as the drying times are so long I was finding that it was not just not practical to use, and I was finding that on horizontal surfaces especially it wasn't durable enough - some new softwood gates that I painted, that are under trees, the paint on the top rails went black and grotty within a couple of years and started to break down after 3. Others love the stuff though, as did I for a while - it's nice to work with but I just found the durability claims weren't being lived up to, a few years after I'd put it on.

I really wouldn't recommend conventional oil based paint externally - the newer breed of water based microporous paints seem much more durable now and a better bet for the long term health of the underlying wood. Others disagree though, and don't like the finish that water based paints give, even their gloss finishes aren't as glossy as oil based gloss. I want a satin finish anyway so I'm not fussed. Water based paints used to be not very good but they've come on massively in recent years.

 

[Craig89]

Heres a more straight forward question, I hope, what areas of the window should not be painted?

 

[Feltwell]

The vertical sides of the sliding sashes should not be painted - just makes them stick in the frame - no need to paint them, they never see the weather. Even with that, I find a newly painted sash window needs to be opened and closed daily for the first month to stop it sticking too badly.

Other than that, paint away - different colour for sash and frame looks a bit more “period” than 1 colour throughout I think, but it’s only an opinion. I put two pieces of parting bead in each side, with a brush seal facing in at the bottom and out at the top, so if the inside and outside of your frame are different colours I paint the top bead the inside colour and bottom bead the outside colour before I fit them, if that makes sense. The joint sits behind the meeting rail.

 

[Craig89]

Just a bit of a conclusion to this thread, my bay window is all repaired, reroofed, painted and double glazed.

And here it is next to its brand new counterpart...

 

[overlander matt]

Wow. That looks fantastic - something to try to aspire to. I had to go back and check the original photos.

 

[Abi Cott]

Nice

 

[Feltwell]

Lovely job! Great match on the bricks for the extension as well.

 

[Craig89]

Thanks all for the positive comments, im very please how its turned out. In reality this thread isnt quite finished because this summers project is the front door!

I searched the country high and low looking for those bricks, finally found some that were a good match but too much size variation between them (we have very tight joints) so me and my mate spent the day, in the snow and hail, measuring every brick with calipers and getting 600 usable ones out of about 1500. Not a day I am soon to forget nor want to ever relive.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Well I wasn't expecting that! You have got an incredibly good match there with both bricks and window, the hard work paid off, it looks excellent.

 

[Flyfisher]

Exemplary! You should be rightly proud of that achievement.


Nitpicking, I know, but it's a shame about the power cables (?) above the front door. We had something similar with overhead cables to our house but I found the network supplier (EDF in our region) very helpful in getting them removed and replaced with an underground supply. I've described the saga somewhere on here previously. Just a thought.

 

[Gothichome]

Craig, I have to agree with the others, everything looks like it’s been that way since new.

 

[Me!]

That is an absolutely fantastic job, well done!
A masterclass on how extensions on old houses should be done.

 

[88v8]

That is an absolutely fantastic job, well done!
A masterclass on how extensions on old houses should be done.

Couldn't agree more. Seamless.

Ivor

 

[Craig89]

Thank you all for the very positive comments!

Now its almost 12 months to the day since we started the bay window and its now time to start the door. We had great success with the heat gun and scrapers but my only concern is getting in close to the leaded stained glass with the heat gun.

Any recommendations for removing the paint that is close to the glass? I dont really want to remove the glass as it is delicate and 1 piece is already cracked. I imagine paint strippers is likely the way to go, just unsure about over painting. The outside will be repainted in Bedec MSP, the same as the windows, the inside is likely to be left bare wood.

Any suggestions welcomed

Thanks, Craig

 

[Feltwell]

I use a heat gun and a bit of thin stainless steel plate that I have - shield the glass with the plate.

By the way, if you've already got a broken piece, an experienced leaded light maker should be able to repair a broken piece in-situ - by opening up the lead came, putting a new piece of glass in and recementing and carefully closing the came. I've seen it done.

 

[88v8]

As I may have mentioned before, beware of the heat gun near glass.
The problem is there's no visible flame, so no way to know if one is too close.

I would use a small blowlamp. And not in sunshine, as this would 'white out' the flame. I find a wide paint scraper makes a good heat shield.

Ivor