Removing emulsion from UPVC window

Mike-H · 21 Apr 2008

My bathroom has brown (wood effect) UPVC windows. There is a lot of paint around the frame from poor decorating in the past. What is the best way to removed this? It is not thick so it wont scrape of safely. Is there some form of cleaning product that will remove the paint but not the brown plastic?

Thanks as always,
Mike

joe-90 · 21 Apr 2008

If it is emulsion then meths works very well. Ventilate the room though or you'll get a headache.

Zampa · 21 Apr 2008

Yep..meffs will work or make a pad of really hot water and hold that on it for a few minutes then pic with your nail

Mike-H · 24 Apr 2008

Zampa said:
Yep..meffs will work or make a pad of really hot water and hold that on it for a few minutes then pic with your nail

Crikey i'm not sure my fingers could take that. There is so much damn paint on the frame

Any way, thanks for the advice i will give it a go with meths.

JohnD · 24 Apr 2008

meths runs off and evaporates quickly, so a couple of tips:

mix it with washing-up liquid and apply thickly with a paintbrush. The meths softens it, but the Fairy holds it in place and slows down evaporation so it doesn't harden again when it dries out.

Flop kitchen roll over it to keep it wet

Flop clingfilm over to stop it evaporating

If it is thick it might take some hours to work, and you must keep it moist all that time.

Zampa · 24 Apr 2008

JohnD said:
meths runs off and evaporates quickly, so a couple of tips:

mix it with washing-up liquid and apply thickly with a paintbrush. The meths softens it, but the Fairy holds it in place and slows down evaporation so it doesn't harden again when it dries out.

Flop kitchen roll over it to keep it wet

Flop clingfilm over to stop it evaporating

If it is thick it might take some hours to work, and you must keep it moist all that time.

Good advice there Jon....

mosh1977 · 29 Apr 2008

what about if it is not emulsion paint?.. i have the same problem and i am not sure what the paint is.

joe-90 · 29 Apr 2008

I still find one of those long-handled-angle-headed-razor-sharp scrapers the best option.

DesLav · 31 Mar 2019

Yes, I know that this thread is over 10 years old (be going to big school soon! ) Anyway. I painted my walls on a very windy day - some years ago - and finally decided to have a go at cleaning the paint off the UPVC frames and came across this post.

MY definitive answer is a £20 steamer softened this ancient and hard masonry paint which I was able to scrape off with my thumbnail and then finish with an old, barely scratchy scourer. It's painstaking but ultimately achieves a perfect result!

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Removing emulsion from UPVC window

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