On 6/1/2008 11:26 AM gee-dub spake thus:

Hi, with spring hitting it's time to touch up the outside of my wooden
frame windows. They are a bit of a mess right now with some paint
gone and perhaps the first signs of the wood starting to rot. So if I
strip the paint off, is it OK to just prime and paint ... will the
wood rot stop - there is perhaps just a few small signs of rot - it's
not too bad.
And, what is the best way to strip the old paint off? Scraper? Paint
stripper? Someone even once mentioned that a pressure washer would
strip paint pretty well.
Any advice is gratefully received.

Stay away from the pressure washer. Not the right tool, and you really
don't want to force water into all the fissures in the wood.

Mechanically removing the paint (scraping, etc.) is the way to go. And
you're going to want to patch the areas where wood has been lost to rot.

The method an acquaintance of mine uses is good, I think: before
patching, he primes the wood. Then the patch goes over primer, which is
much more likely to stick well. Be sure to force the primer into all the
nooks & crannies.

And be sure to scrape out all the soft, spongy wood first.


--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute
conversation with the average voter.

- Attributed to Winston Churchill