In article , Adam
writes
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?
I've not got on well with water based paints in this role. When fully
renovating sliding sash windows I've taken out the sashes, burnt off the old
paint with a heat gun (not near the glass , sanded the crust down to bare
wood and painted on two coats of microporous paint (no primer!). The finish
is superb and is breathable so it lasts a long time. An example of this type
is International brand Ranch Paint. The drawback is that the sashes will be
out for at least 2days to let both coats dry fully 16hrs each + then some
but it is worth it. I block off the opening with a board while this is going on..
Also rub a candle down the mating face of sash & parting bead to reduce
sticking.

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?
You could really do with drying this out, but I reckon that is not going to
happen. Suggest you take it back to bare wood then apply one coat only
of Ranch Paint. That will hopefully stop further moisture getting in but may
let moisture from the wood breath out. Don't be surprised if this is too
much for the paint & the moisture causes it to fail prematurely, just byte
the bullet & repeat the cycle. Hopefully it will be ok after a couple of
iterations, then apply 2 coats of same. btw; I suppose you could give the
bare wood a blast with a fan heater for a few hours before painting, but I
think that will only remove moisture near the surface, and deep seated stuff
will surface later, but it wouldn't hurt.

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?
Don't have much time for those systems as I can clean the windows by
sliding them one over the other & sitting on the window ledge (if you can
picture that). The hinging systems IMO are just extra places for draughts
to get in. I make mine easy to remove by securing the staff beads with
brass screws and screw cups, 5mins to remove, but I don't really have a
need to. If you want to keep them then just soak in paint stripper to recover
former glory but def replace the staff (& parting) beads, they are dead
cheap & can be got from Jewsons and the like. Replacing these make the
windows look like new.

Although I've got a hundred more questions, I'll keep it to that for
the moment!
Your next question is "How do I draughtproof sash windows" and I claim
my 5 pounds :-)

HTH
--
fred