Letter 11263

Painting of anodized aluminum window frames 

Could someone please advise as to the best method for the painting of anodized window frames. At the moment they are an old fashioned brown in colour and I wish to paint them cream. Naturally I wish the paint to last as long as possible.

John W
- Sydney, Australia

I have the same question. We bought a 30 year old home with the old fashioned bronze aluminum window frames. There are about 15 of them which are fixed (they don't open, they are just picture windows) so we don't really need to replace them but we would like to change the frame color to white. Have you received any answers?

Robin M
- Hallandale, Florida

Anodized aluminum is actually just bare metal with the dye sealed out of reach under an almost transparent aluminum oxide film, and it should not react with any common paint. Wash with detergent and a scrub brush, rinse, and I don't think you'll have any paint adhesion or reaction troubles. Good luck. Note that this is advise to an individual homeowner, and more may be expected of a contractor than a homeowner expects for their own personal use.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

I have recently purchased a house in Oregon. It was built in 1949. It has double hung wood windows and aluminum storm windows. I would like to paint the exterior aluminum storm windows the same color as the exterior house trim. Can I use a primer on the aluminum? What kind? Are there other special preparation steps? Am I just asking for trouble with this project?

Don R
- Chandler, Arizona

You can paint aluminum window frames. I recently purchased replacement windows in white. They were replacing the old dark bronze ones. There was one fixed picture window that did not need to be replaced. I simply went to my local hardware supply company and purchased exterior metal paint. In came in a quart size. I just thoroughly cleaned the surface with soap and water. It still looks great after almost three years. I would think this method would work better on a window that is fixed and would not get any motion to disturb the paint.

Michael A
- Birmingham, Alabama

I have bronze aluminum windows that I would like to paint white. Can I do this effectively? If so, can you tell me the process? Sanding, what primer, what paint, do I need to rough up the surface, etc?

Thanks

Dominick O
- Orlando, Florida

The bronze is just a dye that is sealed in, out of reach. So bronze tone aluminum windows would be painted the same way as natural colored aluminum windows. I understand that paint and hardware stores do have paints meant for priming aluminum though.

Ted Mooney finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

We are currently painting aluminum anodized windows that came in typical brown to match the trim on the customers house and have used D.T.M.(Direct to Metal) primer followed by two coats of flat paint(customer wanted NO sheen AT ALL) with no adhesion problems whatsoever.

I must say the primer was used at the customer's insistence only. I would have simply used Emulsabond in the paint, which would work just as well IMO.

J.W. Bison
- Upper Arlington, Ohio

Hi, my name is Carolyn and I am from Orangeburg SC. My question is what type of paint would I use on my double wide? It is a Deluxe 1728 All American of Ashburn Inc. I tried locating the manufacture but no luck on that. I am hoping you know the answer.

Carolyn S
housewife - Orangeburg, South Carolina

I have a 1949 Ranch house that has partial cedar and aluminum siding. The gutters, soffits and windows are trimmed in colored (plum) aluminum. I want to paint the window trim, gutters and soffits a different color. The window trim is aluminum over wood. Can this be done and what do I need to do to prep the aluminum.

Thanks for your help.

Karen B
Hobbyist - Countryside, Illinois

Hi. I am about to paint aluminum windows.and I am not sure whether i should use primer on it or not. What type would you recommend? Also what brand and type of oil base paint would be the best? And do I need to sand the windows with sand paper. I am using a HVLP sprayer to do the job. Thank you so much!

Vic A
owner - Miami, Florida

Please tell me the best method to paint old aluminum windows. after cleaning them well is it recommended to brush a latex paint, or should a spray paint be used like rustoleum.

Anthony Prisco
- Nokomis, Florida

February 11, 2008 We too are looking to paint our aluminum window frames, and were wondering if a spray like rustoleum would work - any suggestions?? Thanks Kirsten Bussard - Arlington, Washington April 20, 2008 I am building a new house and was a little disappointed to come home and find aluminum framed windows put in. I would like to know if I can just paint them myself later rather than cause a stink now. Is it difficult to do? And what's the easiest way? Jessica Carroll hobbyist - Frazier Park, California March 2, 2009 I have not read all the postings, however I did read one posting where some mentioned just cleaning the aluminum good and paint directly on to it. I do professional refinishing of damaged anodized aluminum in commercial buildings and I have found that the best adhesion can be achieved by painting the metal with a Self-Etching Primer [link is to product info at Amazon] first, then finish it with what you like. You can purchase self etching primer in aerosol cans from a auto paint supplier. Ron D. Leatherman - Hutto, Texas