Letter 26013

Seeking advice on repainting anodized window/door frames [Florida] 

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Seeking advice on repainting anodized window/door frames. The current condo I own has brown anodized window and sliding door frames. I would like to paint or refinish only the interior portion of the frames to a white or cream color. The exterior must remain dark brown to maintain a common exterior appearance. I am afraid just "painting" the surfaces (sliding doors particularly) would subject them to chipping, cracking, and/or peeling.

Richard Katz
- Longboat Key, FL, USA

You're right that paint will not adhere like anodizing, where the color is part of the metallic structure. But it will be impractical to anodize in situ, and impractical to remove the window frames, and there is no such thing as white anodizing anyway--so paint it is. Clean the frames well, perhaps consider light sanding of the "wear" areas to give them some tooth. Then 2 or 3 thin coats should adhere fine.

 
Ted Mooney, P.E.
finishing.com Inc. - Brick, NJ

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