How to paint window scrren

A screen room outside my home has fixed plastic "screens" that are waterproofed by a thin coating of clear vinyl or similar plastic sheeting. Portions of the waterproofing layer are flaking off, exposing the underlying screen grid. I would like to paint about 30 square feet of the screened area with an opaque paint to match the house trim, as i have seen done to similar screen rooms in the neighborhood. But none of my neighbors know how the paint job was done on their homes. I would expect to sand lightly to remove flaking plastic. What should I use for paint and how do I apply it to both the intact plastic areas and the porous grid areas where the plastic has flaked off?

Newt

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Reply to
enewton
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I dont know about cleaning, but spray the sceen.

Reply to
ransley

You aren't going to like this answer but your screen is shot and needs to be replaced. The sun has destroyed it. I bet you can poke your finger right through it

Reply to
gfretwell

Use some sort of vile chemical to dissolve the plastic. Then spray with your favorite paint.

In the era before aluminum screen mesh and convenient spray cans, screens were painted (and the steel wire HAD to be painted) with a brush! (This was even before rollers.) Sometimes the voids filled with paint so you had to go back over the screen with a toothpick to open them up.

Reply to
HeyBub

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Reply to
enewton

enewton had written this in response to

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: Thanks, HeyBub

It turns out the underlying screen is steel or aluminum, as you suggest. What I am trying to achieve is a solid coating of paint over the screen, sealing all the mesh. So it seems like I would use a fairly thick paint spread thin on both the inside and outside, and probably a second coat to cover and produce a smooth finished surface. I know that my neighbor's window down the street has this exact effect, but have no idea what paint or technique was used. If I screw it up, all the screening will need to come out, which, of course, may be the end result anyway.

Newt

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Reply to
enewton

Reasons are not yet clear why

  1. it seems you did not ask at a window/screen store;
  2. it seems you did not ask your neighbor.
Reply to
Don Phillipson

It's not clear to me whether these are separate screens with an aluminum frame and a rubber spline holding the screening material in the frame, OR, a wooden frame with screen stapled down and wood trim covering the edges.

In either case, I think I would re-screen it. Go to the home store and buy a roll of screening material in the proper width - you can get metal screen, or fiberglass in various sun-blocking densities.

For the aluminum frame/spline type, just pull out the spline, throw away the old screen, stretch the new screen, and reinsert the spline. You can reuse the spline unless it's really deteriorated.

Wooden frame, remove the trim, pull the staples holding the screen, staple in new screen, replace trim. Easy-peasy.

I replace the screen in my patio slider about every 2 years, due to pets, kids, etc.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry

Do yourself a favor and throw the spline away too. Old spline gets stiff and hard to work with. It is hard enough for the average DIY guy to get the screen rolled in tight, don't handicap yourself over a dollar's worth of spline. It is cheap. If you and your neighbors want to do screens, chip in and buy a roll. It will last you all a life time. Be sure to get the right kind. There is flat and several sizes of round. They are not interchangeable.

Reply to
gfretwell

enewton had written this in response to

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  1. The generally knowledgeable hardware store owner I spoke to never heard of putting a solid coating over mesh screens. Same with paint store. Asking at HD or Lowes seemed like a waste of time.

  1. The neighbor inherited the screens already coated and in good condition. Prior owner said he had had them painted but did not say with what or what technique.

Thanks for the > "enewton"

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Reply to
enewton

In the past I would spray paint screens then before the paint dried hit them with compressed air to clear holes that were filled with paint.

JImmie

Reply to
JIMMIE

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A can of latex ain't gonna work. I doubt you can put it on the screen without turning the screen into a colored sheet. With the mesh density on today's screens, surface tension alone will cause the paint to jump to the next wire! The minimum thickness of the applied paint is probably greater than the distance to the next warp or woof!

(I exaggerate, but probably not by much.)

Get a can (probably several) of spray paint and stand way away from the target.

Reply to
HeyBub

Oooh! Swell idea!

Reply to
HeyBub

enewton had written this in response to

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: Jerry, Jimmie & Others

Thanks for the suggesti> >> enewt>> > A screen room outside my home has fixed plastic

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Reply to
enewton

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Aircraft dope is what you are looking for, like they used to paint fabric-covered airplanes with. Not a clue where a civilian would buy it, other than the tiny bottles model airplane guys use. Probably chock full of VOCs and all sorts of stuff that the gummint doesn't want us to play with any more. I suspect the stuff they sell to paint plastic car bumpers with may be worth a try- it is designed to bond to plastic and stay flexible.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

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probably not, that is just catalyzed enamel like you'd use for the rest of the car, but with a flex additive. Waaaaay too thin to bridge gaps (designed to be sprayed,) and not cheap either. Regular house paint probably has a better chance of working.

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

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