# Forum Home Renovation Painting  Painting aluminium frames- patio doors & windows

## stan250

Hi All, 
I have those windows and doors that are finished in the once fashionable chocolate brown.
Visitors have advised that painting them will be a huge task and the results may not be great. 
Can anyone advise how to do this and with what sort of paint.
I have a compressor so could spray but would rather not as the masking would be a nightmare.
many thanks

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## chuth77

I attempted this on anodized aluminium sliders some time ago... I used gloss, exterior paint, something like Dulux X10. Enamel would have been better but I wanted to use acrylic... 
It looked great, just gotta work quickly to get an even coat. Everyone was suprised by the change and how good the finish was. Just make sure you thoroughly clean the surfaces, and roughen them up with a light sand.

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## racingtadpole

One further suggestion.... 
Use a bonding agent such as ESP to help the paint stick.

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## autogenous

Sand with fine wet and dry then mask then use window spray paint. I think its very similar to car paint.

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## stan250

> Sand with fine wet and dry then mask then use window spray paint. I think its very similar to car paint.

  
"window spray paint".... didnt know there was such a thing- do you know who makes it? 
thanks

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## villageidiot

Just while we are on this subject does anyone know a good way of cleaning/polishing up the old style plain aluminium window frames? After a while they do start to anodise and lose their shine.

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## Master Splinter

Villageidiot -  
There's cleaner for aluminium bull bars available from Super Cheap Auto - Septone Alibrite.  It's good, but wear goggles and good gloves (big sturdy PVC ones) as it contains hydrofluric acid which you DO NOT want on your skin - "Corrosive to the skin. Skin contact causes serious skin burns    which may not be immediately apparent or painful. Symptoms may be delayed 8    hours or longer. The fluoride ion readily penetrates the skin causing    destruction of deep tissue layers and even bone." 
I think the sulphuric acid is in Alibrite simply as an irritant so you know you've splashed yourself with it!

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## Calamaty Jane

A good tip for polishing up powder coated frames is to polish with a marine polish. Car polish will do the same job but doesnt last as long.  I had a powder coated Milkcan letterbox that looked had definately lost its lustre. After polishing with marine polish it brought it back new, and lasted a bout a year before I had to do it again.  The water just beads off it.

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