I'm in the middle of fixing up a home used as a rental unit. As the home
is older and some what abused it will not command a premium and as such
both the owner and myself agree that we are not to spend too much time
and money on it. However a complete paint job on the interior is
warranted. Many windows, each with seven panes of glass (6 over 1),
posed a problem, painting windows is very time consuming. My hand can be
fairly steady but pretty slow. This job must be done fast. I thought the
time spent taping the windows would be regained by being able to paint
faster. I tested this on one window and was disappointed how long it
took to try and tape the window (tape also did not stick well to clean
and dry glass, 3m tape). I have used metal tools that aid in painting
windows but the paint wants to wick around the metal and does not do as
good a job as one might hope.

New trick. Take a piece of high quality 3m masking tape and use it to
cover the end of a high quality and flexible 6 inch and 12 inch spackle
knife. The half of the tape covers the end of the knife length wise and
then it is folded over to cover the other side of the knife. The fold is
kept sharp. This tool is then placed at the juncture between the glass
and the wood frame and you paint like mad. The tool is pulled straight
away and if needed the under side is given a quick swipe on some old
newspaper to clean off any paint the might have come around. With the 6
and 12 inch spackle knives modified this way the window was quickly and
neatly painted with the added bonus that the juncture between the glass
and wood was sealed with paint as we are told to do. The tape for some
reason seems to reduce or eleminate the paint wicking around the knife.
Any explanations out there?

An old dog can learn a new trick.

"andy everett" wrote in message
news:mH5yf.1018$Zo.498@trnddc07...
I'm in the middle of fixing up a home used as a rental unit. As the home
is older and some what abused it will not command a premium and as such
both the owner and myself agree that we are not to spend too much time
and money on it. However a complete paint job on the interior is
warranted. Many windows, each with seven panes of glass (6 over 1),
posed a problem, painting windows is very time consuming. My hand can be
fairly steady but pretty slow. This job must be done fast. I thought the
time spent taping the windows would be regained by being able to paint
faster. I tested this on one window and was disappointed how long it
took to try and tape the window (tape also did not stick well to clean
and dry glass, 3m tape). I have used metal tools that aid in painting
windows but the paint wants to wick around the metal and does not do as
good a job as one might hope.

New trick. Take a piece of high quality 3m masking tape and use it to
cover the end of a high quality and flexible 6 inch and 12 inch spackle
knife. The half of the tape covers the end of the knife length wise and
then it is folded over to cover the other side of the knife. The fold is
kept sharp. This tool is then placed at the juncture between the glass
and the wood frame and you paint like mad. The tool is pulled straight
away and if needed the under side is given a quick swipe on some old
newspaper to clean off any paint the might have come around. With the 6
and 12 inch spackle knives modified this way the window was quickly and
neatly painted with the added bonus that the juncture between the glass
and wood was sealed with paint as we are told to do. The tape for some
reason seems to reduce or eleminate the paint wicking around the knife.
Any explanations out there?

An old dog can learn a new trick.



Don't have clue as to why it worked. But you can bet that I will be trying
this trick.

Regular tape? Or one of the clean release ones?

I completely agree that taping off each pane is slower than scraping off the
paint when you are done. Except when it is an acrylic pane which scratch
very easily.


Colbyt

"Colbyt" writes:

"andy everett" wrote in message
news:mH5yf.1018$Zo.498@trnddc07...
New trick. Take a piece of high quality 3m masking tape and use it to
cover the end of a high quality and flexible 6 inch and 12 inch spackle
knife. The half of the tape covers the end of the knife length wise and
then it is folded over to cover the other side of the knife. The fold is
kept sharp. This tool is then placed at the juncture between the glass
and the wood frame and you paint like mad. The tool is pulled straight
away and if needed the under side is given a quick swipe on some old
newspaper to clean off any paint the might have come around. With the 6
and 12 inch spackle knives modified this way the window was quickly and
neatly painted with the added bonus that the juncture between the glass
and wood was sealed with paint as we are told to do. The tape for some
reason seems to reduce or eleminate the paint wicking around the knife.
Any explanations out there?

An old dog can learn a new trick.

Don't have clue as to why it worked. But you can bet that I will be trying
this trick.

I just did my dining room windows with a 12x24 inch piece of formica.
Just hold it in place and paint normally.
For smaller windows I'd need to use something smaller.
Also did baseboards and chair rails.
I haven't held a microscope up to it, but from normal viewing
distances, it looks fine.

A lot faster than taping (which doesn't really work in my opinion)
and of course a lot faster than just painting with a steady hand.

andy everett wrote:

The tape for some reason seems to
reduce or eleminate the paint wicking around the knife. Any
explanations out there?

Very few surfaces are truly flat. The tape has enough resilience to
seal low areas when you press with the knife.



--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Colbyt wrote:
....

Regular tape? Or one of the clean release ones?

I completely agree that taping off each pane is slower than scraping off the
paint when you are done. Except when it is an acrylic pane which scratch
very easily.
....

I used 1 inch wide 3m masking tape, not the more expensive blue easy
release tape.

I've always had luck with the metal pieces that look like they came from
venetian blinds. The idea is to not have too much paint on the brush and
keep the metal underside clean.


"andy everett" wrote in message
news:mH5yf.1018$Zo.498@trnddc07...
I'm in the middle of fixing up a home used as a rental unit. As the home
is older and some what abused it will not command a premium and as such
both the owner and myself agree that we are not to spend too much time
and money on it. However a complete paint job on the interior is
warranted. Many windows, each with seven panes of glass (6 over 1),
posed a problem, painting windows is very time consuming. My hand can be
fairly steady but pretty slow. This job must be done fast. I thought the
time spent taping the windows would be regained by being able to paint
faster. I tested this on one window and was disappointed how long it
took to try and tape the window (tape also did not stick well to clean
and dry glass, 3m tape). I have used metal tools that aid in painting
windows but the paint wants to wick around the metal and does not do as
good a job as one might hope.

New trick. Take a piece of high quality 3m masking tape and use it to
cover the end of a high quality and flexible 6 inch and 12 inch spackle
knife. The half of the tape covers the end of the knife length wise and
then it is folded over to cover the other side of the knife. The fold is
kept sharp. This tool is then placed at the juncture between the glass
and the wood frame and you paint like mad. The tool is pulled straight
away and if needed the under side is given a quick swipe on some old
newspaper to clean off any paint the might have come around. With the 6
and 12 inch spackle knives modified this way the window was quickly and
neatly painted with the added bonus that the juncture between the glass
and wood was sealed with paint as we are told to do. The tape for some
reason seems to reduce or eleminate the paint wicking around the knife.
Any explanations out there?

An old dog can learn a new trick.

I have a rental too. When I painted my unit, I rented a professional
paint sprayer and went to town over the windows and glass. After 30
minutes, the latex would kind of dry to the touch, but not be
completely cured. At that time I used a razor blade and was able to
clean the windo in about 30 - 45 seconds. To me, avoiding the brush was
well worth it.

Pat

andy everett wrote:
Many windows, each with seven panes of glass (6 over 1),
posed a problem, painting windows is very time consuming. My hand can be
fairly steady but pretty slow. This job must be done fast. I thought the
time spent taping the windows would be regained by being able to paint
faster. I tested this on one window and was disappointed how long it
took to try and tape the window (tape also did not stick well to clean
and dry glass, 3m tape). I have used metal tools that aid in painting
windows but the paint wants to wick around the metal and does not do as
good a job as one might hope.

I've used taping knives this way for years, wiping with a cotton
rag(which is something I always have handing while painting). I'll try
the tape next time. Thanks for the tip!