Wooden Windows - care

Red Hare

I have wooden windows that need looking after. The coating on them is flaking off - its like a type of flexible plastic its not like varnish.

The windows must be about 10 years old - we bought the house 8 years ago.

Does anyone know what I should do to repair this- the raw wood underneath is starting to weather.

Apelles

Pics please Red Hare.

I'm guessing these are a light wood in colour, maybe Scandinavian with a clear finish with the wood turning a blackish tone where the protective coating has failed. I've seen it happening a lot of late.

First thing you need to do is establish exactly what type of timber the windows are made from & what type of paint finish is currently on them before you can begin any proper maintenance.

Assuming it's a pre-finished factory unit that's varnished/lacquered like the type on many imported windows & doors from around that time, then you may need to strip the affected rails, but thats just purely speculation at the moment, you really need to post some pics of the affected areas to gleam some clarity on the issue.

Red Hare

Here is a photo - the window says Scanglas on it - so I suppose it is Scandanavian

Apelles

That looks pretty much like I expected alright, the window definitely looks to be of Scandinavian pine origin & the varnish is most probably a water based microporous sprayed-on finish.

Is it just the bottom rail of the units that are affected?

So you need to gently scrape off any of the already loose & peeling varnish.

Then using masking tape, completely mask-off each of the affected rails including the window glass where it meets the timber & mask off the windowsills with old newspaper.

Next apply a liberal coat of Nitromos paint remover all over the rail, leave for a few minutes then scrape off all the softened varnish, you may have to repeat this several times until all the gunge is gone. When thats done you need to neutralize the rail with white spirits & let it dry.

You'll notice that the blackish stains are still visible, now these have to be hand sanded out, starting with a P100 grade sandpaper going with the direction of the grain, every now & then wipe with white spirits to see how it would look with new varnish.

Once your happy with the wet look of it remove all the masking tape, then your ready to apply the new varnish, now in the past I've had pretty good success using Pine Sadolin matching the tinted finish that they use in the factory but you may have to experiment if you require exactly the same colour.

If some of the side & top rails only have minor blisters on them, then don't bother stripping with Nitromos, just sand down using P150 sandpaper then wash & dust down before coating the whole unit with the new varnish.

Let me know how you get on or if you have other questions.

ge.ag

I am considering to buy a house that I like, but I noticed that the wooden windows have their coating flaking off. Looking for information on how serious this problem is I found this post, which, amazingly enough, refers to the exact windows the house has (by the way, re. type of wood, it is suppose to be nordic pine).

I think that the treatment to be done is explained clearly and detailed enough. What I would like to know is, how often should it be carried out? Should I consider this issue with the windows as a serious handicap for the house?

Thanks for any advice!