Repairing A Damaged Wooden Window Frame

Of the many DIY projects undertaken by home owners, wooden window repair is one that will almost certainly begin with a sense of hesitation.

The knee jerk response is to think “Best leave it to the professionals” where original wood windows and doors are concerned but this shouldn’t necessarily be the case.

In many instances a few simple applications (and some careful planning ahead) can reap incredible results and here we’ll be demonstrating just one example of how you can easily and affordably bring an original wooden window frame back to life.

As always, having the right equipment for the job is key and with this in mind we decided to use a two-part wood repair resin and primer from 3C.

The other tools you’ll need are as follows:

masking tape
silicone wipes
plastic spatulas
trimming knife
scraper and a chisel
wire wall brushes
small paintbrush
double cartridge application gun

As we started preparation to repair our wood window frame, we realised that the damage was not only to the actual frame but also to the beading. So, to add some protection to our glass panels we decided to add some masking tape over them.

This isn’t always necessary, but we decided to err on the side of caution anyway, just in case.

Using a sharp tool like a chisel, begin by scraping away the wood from the damaged areas. This is relatively easy when the wood has decayed but you do want to take it all the way down until you find good solid dry wood.

Dusting off as you go, use the wire wool brush and really scrape away and clean those areas well.

Once you have removed all the loose damaged and decayed wood from your wooden window frame, you can give it a little sanding down.

At this point you’re ready to begin mixing the 2-part wood repair resin primer.

The primer from 3C comes in two parts and is easily prepared by mixing together with a 1:1 ratio.

This means that you can simply mix the two parts together to activate your primer ready for use.

The damaged wooden window frame we are working on doesn’t require too much primer so instead we measured out equal amounts into a smaller container and mixed together thoroughly.

Now you can simply apply to the cleaned and prepared area of the damaged wooden window frame.

Using the small paint brush, make sure that the damaged area gets a complete covering of the 2-part primer.

The primer will take about 20 minutes to dry so you can grab yourself a cup of tea and prepare to mix up your 3C 2-part wood repair resin.

We used our double cartridge application gun to ensure the mixing ratio of 1:1 was accurate.

When opening the cartridges, it’s important not to use the standard nozzles as these bottle-neck down to a tight nib and may affect the mixing ratio of 1:1 due to the differing viscosity of each part.

First, we loaded up the two tubes in the application gun and simply ejected a sufficient amount to complete our repair to the damaged areas.

Using a plastic board, we then mixed the two resin components together completely to form a paste and it was ready for use.

Start by filling the deeper areas with the resin paste and take care to really work it into any grooves and remove any air pockets that may form.

Follow the shape from the undamaged portions of the frame to guide you.

Try to clean your scrapers between each application with your silicone wipes. This will help to ensure that you achieve a clean finish with sharp edges where needed.

Once you are happy with your initial repairs, set aside and leave to dry for a minimum of eight hours.

After drying you’ll see that the 2-part repair resin is completely solid and is now ready for its final shaping and sanding.

There are an abundance of tools to choose from to help shape your final repair and the key is to find the tool that is easiest for you to use whilst getting the best finish.

Luckily for us, the 2-part wood repair resin from 3C we used for our repair is incredibly easy to work with and we achieved a fantastic finish using no more than a trimming knife and even a simple kitchen vegetable peeler.

With the reshaping done you can give your repaired areas a good sanding down to complete a smooth finish that ties the newly shaped resin areas with the original wooden structure.

Once you’re happy that your repaired wooden window frame is suitably sanded down you can begin adding your first layer of paint.

We used a chalk paint from Frenchic Paint for our window frame. We allowed 2 hours of drying time between the first and second coat and the results were spectacular.