How can I clean up old over-paint on window frames?

Question

I have many windows with paint on the frames like they didn't mask them when painting the drywall. They are metal window frames with I believe just a factory finish in a dark brown or black.

How can I make this look better?

Answer 1

The easiest method to give this a cleaner look without trying to scrape or remove any of the old paint is to get some painters tape and run it around the frame of the window, out to the farthest smears of paint and straighten the lines up. We used to do this all the time on repaints to make things look better.

I would start by cleaning the window frames real good and then mask them with some Frog Tape (it has a water activated polymer that swells when latex paint hits it and prevents the paint from bleeding behind the tape).

Give yourself a ¼" from the edge of the wall and then paint around the edge of the frame. It might take a few coats to cover. When you pull the tape you'll have a nice straight line and it won't be so noticeable. You might still have some smears but the majority of the lines will be much straighter.

My apologies for the crude drawing, hard to do with my phone.

Answer 2

A razor blade.

But there are holders for them that make them safer and easier to use.

Scribe a line and work to it.

Answer 3

You can't easily remove paint from paint. You'll have to paint again. In this case I'd consider simply using the wall color, or choose something to complement the wall and window colors.

Answer 4

Two basic methods to clean paint

One is chemical the other one is mechanical

You probably need both of them

You also need good scraping tool

For mechanical I use a heat gun and heat up the paint and then scrape it