There is a primer called Plastic & Vinyl made by XIM. I picked some up at a SW store. I cleaned my vinyl trim with TSP. I used the aerosol version of P&V and then topcoated with SW superpaint. The sills are on a southern exposure and they still look new 2 years later. The manager of the SW store told me that P&V was originally formulated to repaint plastic auto bumpers and had super adhesion.

We have vinyl siding and are DIY Marvin Replacement windows - they are actually very easy - we have some wood rot - we are heat gunning it - repairing it with wood filler/stop rot stuff, priming, painting it, and putting in the new windows and then triming the outside with their metal trim. We - husband and myself can do 2-3 easily in a day, taking our time - without trim work - getting them in solid (we are replacing all trim too at some point). It is that easy if you have talent and she is slightly willing to help and your measurements are good (getting the bevel made the difference for us vs. the first trial window we did). It is going so well, we didn't do a few windows and my husband wants to go ahead and probably finish out those (I'm tired and not so thrilled with the idea as we only have two of the 12 we ordered left which will go in this weekend). We tried going through Lowes and we couldn't figure out how they got their measurements - had them have two subs come out and gave up - I found a Marvin to give me the contractor price, so we decided to spend more on a better window than the Pella and DIY with the savings... worth every penny but we just DIY'ed a kitchen too. I can't imagine the installers if they were Lowes or Marvin doing the prep work with the wood rot we are doing, which makes me feel better knowing we are doing it "right." My advice is to try one window - if you get that one, then buy the rest. If you can't do it, have a backup plan - friend or handyman and pay for the rest of the install but it isn't rocket science like people make it out to be. If you are a little short on your measurements it's ok as you want some give for easy install and you can redo your trim to hide it....easy fix. (we have good measurements but we are still redoing the trim as it's looking bad)

Thanks, Todd. The Vytex quotes did include the exterior color of my choice My understanding is that the original trim will remain, but I may not be clear on the extent of the term "trim" The Marvin quote includes painting One additional issue is the upcharge for laminated glass on the Marvins--$500 per window. Is this reasonable? The Vytex quotes include laminated glass for 3 upstairs windows and any additional laminated glass is only $150/window. I think i would also like laminated glass for my 3 street-facing kitchen windows, so that is an additional consideration. Re whether it worth the money---I really don't have a sense of the aesthetic differences between them. I'm also concerned about reading that the Marvin windows only have a 10 year warranty on the wood, which seems to run counter to the claims that wood windows will last many years. Also, I can't find any air infiltration numbers on the Marvins. The U factor and other specs seem competitive with the Vytex.

A sash kit with Dual pane and low-E would have similar performance to a triple pane unit. The STC rating would be better and much less loss of glass over an insert. Installation can be simple to comlex depending on who is installing and the condition of the existing opening . I rarely see them installed correctly by pros unless they are somewhat specialized in these, the ones they got right were because the openings and window needed no modification.