I don’t paint enough trim to have the steady hand required to paint windows and trim without some kind of masking. Usually, I reach for my paint shield for some help. It has a bladelike straight edge that resembles a Venetian blind and tucks into the corner where wall meets door casing or window glass meets muntin.
I had a bunch of windows to paint, and my paint shield had gone missing. But I did have a leftover piece of plastic J-bead for 1/2-in. drywall. With a couple of drywall screws, I affixed the J-bead to a wooden handle. I used this squeegee look-alike in the manner shown in the drawing to speed up my window painting. It worked so well that the store-bought paint shield may be out of a job if it ever turns up again.
Charles Miller, Newtown, CT
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A proper paint job on wood windows glazed with materials that require a protective coating of paint (e.g. putty) requires the painter to lap paint onto the glass to seal the union between the glazing material and glass to prevent moisture penetration into the glaze and window structure.
Failure to do this will dramatically reduce the lifespan of the paint job and window unit. There’s no substitute for good preparation, quality materials, proper technique, and a steady hand.
This applies to the interior as well. Condensed moisture will damage wood windows if the gap between glass and wood isn’t properly sealed.