Any tips, pointers, etc.?

I've never done anything like this before and don't want to screw up $20K worth of windows and doors.  Some people make it seem easy, and other like a nightmare.

Can someone walk me through the steps I should take?  I have stain that matches our trim.  A list of additional materials needed would be useful as well.

Thanks!

Corey

Masking tape and paper or plastic sheeting. The finished product will only look as good as the effort that you put into the pre-staining preperation. Follow the directions on the can of stain to the letter.  They don't write that stuff on there just to fill the space.  

Good luck.

Note: The windows are pine, if your trim is oak the stain will be different because of the yellow in the pine. Take a piece of the window that can be removed  and  a piece of existing trim along to the stain matching place for best results. Mark which side the stain can be tested on because not all people are that bright.  I wash the whole wood frame area with xylol or acetone to remove all finger prints and oils, then lightly sand with 320 grit paper and tack cloth.Tape off all gazing and frame areas.  Then we use Preval hand held sprayers to apply the stain and cloth rags to wipe down and a china bristle brush to "pull"out any stain settled into the corners. Then cure for a day. Then use water based polyurethane Minwax satin polyurethane sprayed out of a HVLP unit. Cure for day. Sand with 000 steel wool. Vac down with HEPA vac. Re-spray. Sand down with 0000 wool, vac again and lemon oil all. Wrap up in moving blankets like little babies and put in the openings!!! The finish is "factory" fine.
Good luck. It 's a lot of work for a true fine finish.

Use a sanding sealer before you stain, it will give you a much better end result. Just take your time and you will have some nice looking window/doors.

Okay, here's what our building center guy just said when I called him.

Don't worry about sanding or cleaning the wood.  Dust it off only. Apply a wood preconditioner like Minwax.  This will prevent the pine from blotting. Next stain.  Apply it and wipe it right off.  Don't let it sit too long.  We already have the correct type of stain that matches our trim for the pine windows. Finally apply a satin finish varnish.

Anything he missed?  I know some of you mentioned sanding.  The wood is already in really good condition.  These are factory new Pellas.

Something tells me this is a much bigger job than was initially described to me....

Thanks everyone.

Corey

Quoted: Note: The windows are pine, if your trim is oak the stain will be different because of the yellow in the pine. Take a piece of the window that can be removed  and  a piece of existing trim along to the stain matching place for best results. Mark which side the stain can be tested on because not all people are that bright.  I wash the whole wood frame area with xylol or acetone to remove all finger prints and oils, then lightly sand with 320 grit paper and tack cloth.Tape off all gazing and frame areas.  Then we use Preval hand held sprayers to apply the stain and cloth rags to wipe down and a china bristle brush to "pull"out any stain settled into the corners. Then cure for a day. Then use water based polyurethane Minwax satin polyurethane sprayed out of a HVLP unit. Cure for day. Sand with 000 steel wool. Vac down with HEPA vac. Re-spray. Sand down with 0000 wool, vac again and lemon oil all. Wrap up in moving blankets like little babies and put in the openings!!! The finish is "factory" fine. Good luck. It 's a lot of work for a true fine finish.

BTW, do you work at Pella?

Corey

PS  Thanks for the great advice.  Are the sprayer really necessary for a one time only job?  (I.e., or are they mainly beneficial for pros who do this every day of the year?)

Hi,
No, I don't work at Pella, but I've put in many for customers that didn't want to pay the VerHalen price  s!! The sanding is really to remove the burnishing that is created from the blades of the molder used. Same concept with cedar except cedar creates a wax from the planing. It "opens" the surface. I'm not sold on the pre-conditioner with pellas if they are casements,  yes to the double hungs as the cut of wood is more flatsawn and will have larger variations between the heartwood and sap wood, as opposed to quartersawn used more in the casements. I guess if you're new to this the conditioner is a good choice because it would make it more uniform in it's acceptance of the stain. We tend to rely on our eyes and control over the sprayer.

Quoted: Hi, No, I don't work at Pella, but I've put in many for customers that didn't want to pay the VerHalen price  s!! The sanding is really to remove the burnishing that is created from the blades of the molder used. Same concept with cedar except cedar creates a wax from the planing. It "opens" the surface. I'm not sold on the pre-conditioner with pellas if they are casements,  yes to the double hungs as the cut of wood is more flatsawn and will have larger variations between the heartwood and sap wood, as opposed to quartersawn used more in the casements. I guess if you're new to this the conditioner is a good choice because it would make it more uniform in it's acceptance of the stain. We tend to rely on our eyes and control over the sprayer.

Thank!  Yes, they are casement.

I was probably going to skip the preconditioner and I think i have a pretty good eye for detail.  Unless you think I should use it?

Let me know.  My project for today was delayed a bit....

Corey

Well, at this point it's your call. With the $ you've got invested in them I'm sure you don't want them to look bad, so keep that in mind. Good luck.