Aluminium Paint right or wrong

[Sandrine]

I think I followed some rum advise from an old guy.
I stripped a south facing sash window and he told me to just use one coat of aluminium paint as a primer/undercoat then two coats of gloss. He said that is how greenhouses were painted to stop the sun baking the paint off.
Well I shaded the drying paint and left a week between each coat.
Six months later the paint has all but fallen off the window sill but the windows are ok.
I'm thinking the sill is hard wood and should have had primer on it.
Any ideas, or shall I just cover it with lead.

Thanks

 

[misterhelpful]

I stripped a south facing sash window and he told me to just use one coat of aluminium paint as a primer/undercoat then two coats of gloss.

I think the problem may lie in the phrasing - aluminium paint and aluminium wood primer are two completely different things. One of you may have been muddled up by this.

Aluminium wood primer is a great product for priming hard woods and can also be used on softwoods. It should then be undercoated and finished with your chosen topcoat(s).

Aluminium paint, on the other hand, is an aluminium type finish for use on things like metal pipes, tanks...and, you guessed it, can even be used on metal framed greenhouses, windows, etc. It can withstand higher temperatures than aluminium wood primer but it is not a primer and isn't suitable for use on wooden windows (as far as I am aware).

Of course, you may have used the aluminium wood primer, and I may be barking up the wrong tree, but your original post states you used aluminium paint.

 

[Sandrine]

Misterhelpful you are correct, aluminium paint just like he told me. I wonder why it has stuck to rest of window though.
Anyway its a mess that needs fixing and I don't want a repeat disater.

Thanks for your reply

 

[misterhelpful]

Was the sill damp or wet when you applied the first coat?
Sills in poor condition are renowned for staying damp when the rest of the frame is bone dry. Maybe covering it with lead would provide a solution if this is the case, but the correct thing to do would be repairing or replacing it.
Otherwise, ensure the wood is dry and use a good wood primer (the aluminium wood primer if it is hardwood) before undercoating and topcoating.