Refinishing Windows

Homeowners strip and sand old wooden windows to give them a makeover.

Refinishing Windows Amy Matthews: Restoring old wood windows in your home maybe a messy task. Female: It kind of burns when it hits your skin. Amy Matthews: But the beauty and character of the original wood is priceless. Male: One of the many things we love about this house is just the old woodwork that’s all natural wood. Amy Matthews: If you’d like to refinish your old windows here’s what you need to know. First remove the painted trim and window panes. It’s important to keep as much of the window intact as you can because saving the window will save you money. Custom aid replacement parts can be expensive and hard to find. Window parts that can’t be removed will need to be stripped in place in the wall. Strip the rest of the window outside to avoid toxic fumes. Paint on this stripper with a brush, thick rubber gloves will protect your skin. Let the stripper sit for about 20 minutes, look for the paint to start blistering and bubbling. It’s best to scrape off the paint using a rubber spatula or plastic putty knife. Metal tools can gauge the wood. Nice work. Female: Thank you. Amy Matthews: And this looked gray also you’re happy with what it turned out. Female: Yeah I’m excited to get the finish on them it really see how it pulls out the wood. Amy Matthews: And you guys are just going to match the rest of the trim in the house and they’ll look like and they’ll always like that. After the window has been stripped of all old paint you can stain and seal it. There’s so much character I mean the work as beautiful it’s so classic and it looks like it was restored to the original time period. For just a few bucks in materials you can restore your old windows to look like new. With a little know how you can actually make money with increased equity by doing the work yourself. I’m Amy Matthews from DIY Network’s Sweat Equity.