Painting outside of conservatory glass panels?

[crotchy]

Hi all
Ive got a lovely victorian conservatory on the back of my house, built before we bought it last year. Its in good condition with double-glazed glass panels in the roof (ie not polycarb). Trouble is its baking hot when the suns out.

I was looking for a cheap/simple way to reduce the sun coming in, and thought simply painting the roof panels might work. Im happy for it to end up opaque or slightly translucent.

Now, Ive read a couple of posts on here which make it seem possible. The complication in my case is that it looks like the outside of the panels has a thin film applied (you can see where its lifting slightly at the bottom edges). Im guessing this is some kind of UV filter - you can see from inside its very slightly less bright than through the side windows. Ive tried to find out what it is exactly but have failed on that one.

So, the question is, does anyone know if its possible to paint over such films?

Many thanks in adv

 

[misterhelpful]

Have you read this recent thread?

//www.diynot.com/forums/decorating/paint-to-use-for-vinyl-plastic-material.398296/

There is a cheap and practical solution offered in it which may be worth trying out to see if it will actually reduce the heat in your conservatory before you go to the trouble of actually painting the glass.

If it works and you feel you need something more hardwearing then Bullseye 123 plus primer will adhere to (very clean) glass easily, and you should then be able to apply a harder wearing topcoat. However, when painting the outside of glass roof, you are really exposing the paint to the harshest of all elements, and if there is a UV film which is already lifting, it may be a better solution to paint the inside surface.

BTW, the film could be solar reflective, although it doesn't seem to be doing that job very well for you, or it could be a laminated safety film as the panels are actually glass and not polycarbonate.

 

[crotchy]

thanks for the reply
yeah I did see that thread but Im after something a bit more solid looking and permanent (well, recoat after 2 years etc).

Ill check out the bullseye, but if it needs v clean glass it might not go onto a film very well.

The film is only very slightly lifting at the bottom, but apart from that its well on there, and I dont really want to disturb it.

Just wondered whether something like dulux weathercoat would work - maybe I just need to try it on a small area...

will let you know
thanks!