How to: painting the windows

"How can I paint my windows? What paint do I need? Is it better to paint or stain my wooden windows? Can I also paint my PVC or aluminium window frames?" Here are the answers to your questions, broken down into four handy step-by-step plans:

painting wooden windows: here you'll find step-by-step instructions on how to give your wooden windows a (new) coat of paint, both inside and outside.
staining wooden windows: here we explain how to use stain to freshen up your windows on the outside.
painting aluminium windows: here you can read how aluminium window painting differs from wood window painting and how to use it correctly.
painting pvc windows: here you can read how to proceed if your windows are made of PVC and you would like to paint them.

On this page, you'll also find some general tips for painting your windows, including some top products to use!

What do you want to do?

Painting wooden windows

Staining wooden windows

Painting or staining wooden windows? 🤔

Choosing whether to paint or stain your windows depends partly on the look you want to achieve. If, for example, you want a mirror-smooth high-gloss look, you can only go ahead with lacquer paint. If you still want to see the wood structure, choose a stain.

There are also a few other things to consider, such as how often you should refresh the windows. With stain, this is every three to four years; lacquers can remain maintenance-free for up to 7 to 8 years.

Finally, it's best to look at the condition of the wood itself. For completely new, untreated wood we would rather recommend a lacquer primer and lacquer paint, but for aged woodwork, we find a stain better because it's more flexible. Even if there's already a transparent layer of stain on your wood, you can finish it much more easily with a covering stain.

Painting aluminium windows

Painting PVC windows

Windows and doors?

Looking to paint your door(s) as well? Whether it's inside the house or the front door, we also have handy step-by-step guides on how to paint your doors.

Get started

How to paint your windows

Whether you want to paint a wooden window or treat it with stain, or have a window made of aluminium or PVC... The broad outlines are the same everywhere:

Step 1: prepare the windows and surrounding area

This step mainly consists of thoroughly cleaning and degreasing the windows, possibly also sanding them a little, and applying the necessary masking material. Sometimes you also need to remove old layers of paint.

Step 2: apply an appropriate primer

This could be a regular primer for wooden windows, an adhesion primer for aluminium/PVC windows, or a pre-treatment product for wood that will be stained. A one-pot system (primer, interlayer and final coat in one) is also often one of the options for wooden windows.

Step 3: apply the finishing coat

The last step is even easier than the first, because here all you have to do is to choose between a lacquer and a stain.

More details on exactly which primer and paint or stain you need for each type of window, and exactly how many coats of everything is best to apply, can be found in the more specific step-by-step plans we have listed for you above.

Would you rather look for the right products for your windows yourself? Then to check out our page with paint for windows and doors or have a look at our suggestions below. Or, read more about the different products you could use in our extensive paint guide.

Painting wooden windows