Hi All,

Yet more advice needed, I'm afraid, for the bumbling DIY newbies...

We're about to renovate the sash window in the room we've chosen to do
first, and I wanted to ask some questions and solicite some advice...

I've done a fair bit of reading, both of the posts to uk.d-i-y and
websites such as sash-style, but there doesn't seem to be much
information about painting. We'd like to use a water-based paint if
possible, but I suspect this won't be a very good solution for the
exterior surfaces - are there any water-based paints that would do?

Part of the reason that we're gong for a full-on removal of the sashes
and renovation/repaint is that the paint on the outer cill started
flaking pretty much as soon as I touched it, and has come off in large
chunks. The wood underneath looks damp, but actually feels OK and
gives only a little to the corner of a stripping knife (pretty much
exactly as I'd expect any wood to). Will it be OK to just paint over,
or will I need to treat it somehow?

The current window has a hinging system in place, similar to the
'Simplex' system outlined on the Mighton website, and I'd like to
renovate that too, if possible. I think the hinges and fittings are
all brass (consists of two hinges, to screws in the sash frame, a
thumbscrew to release the RHS staff bead and a 'clutch' for the sash
cord) - what's the easiest way to strip the over-enthusiastic painting
off them?

Although I've got a hundred more questions, I'll keep it to that for
the moment!

Thanks for any help - Adam...