Reply To: Irish say no to PVC windows

I live in a property with 7 year old PVC windows that, for various reasons, I can’t replace.

Is it possible to paint them- maybe by ‘keying’ them first. I asked one friend who advised me against, saying they would peel and look like a decaying caravan.

I really hate the front door. it’s made of a huge hunk of white PVC moulded into a mock georgian shape with a mock victorian knocker. It has a lip at the bottom to trip you up. You need a key to lock the door from the inside (no latch is fitted on this door type as standard). So if the house went on fire and I couldn’t find my key, bad luck. So I just started leaving the door open with the handle pushed up. Then the toddler let himself out and had to be returned by a neighbour. I had a latch fitted but the locksmith told me that new lock fittings tend to fall off PVC doors after a few years as the screws just slide out of the plastic. One day a six foot sliver of white plastic just fell off one side of the door. I couldn’t see its purpose or how to reattach it so I chucked it out. The letter box flaps have broken off on the inside. i often see this door type on other houses and I wonder why such a crap product has won market share from one that worked fine before (wooden door).

Some of the window frames have cracked from kids climbing on them. Others have been spattered with paint or otherwise discoloured. The opening mechanisms are ugly and lumpy and some have broken off.

Anyhow, can I paint them?