Link about this...https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5056923/factory-painted-vs-field-painted-aluminum-clad-windows

Factory paint is always preferred, I would match the sills to the factory color. Some windows like double hungs can be more complex to paint and need hardware , weatherstripping and sashes removed.

+1. No comparison. Factory paint all day long.

In-field painting may void your warranty. Go with factory for best coverage, too.

Paint on-site. Marvin can deliver primed.

might as well get your own at that point.

Use factory finish paint on windows, site paint the sills to match.

I would rather have bamboo chutes under my fingernails than paint a window. Save money somewhere else.

Factory paint, without question.

I look forward to having all of windows vinyl so I don’t have to paint them!!! Tons of tedious work. And I generally like to paint.

Way back when I painted MANY windows. Its a chore. You need a skilled pro. Its not like its rocket science or anything, just tedious and highly exacting.

Great feedback, another vote for factory paint. Site painting can be done and done very well, but it will be more expensive than the factory paint if done right in most cases. Its very tedious work as mentioned above... and to be clear, I'm referring to wood windows. For vinyl or fiberglass factory paint is almost a must.

gotta agree with the above, factory paint.

Oh boy!!! I wish I had seen this post in March before ordering my Glastra outside/wood inside casement windows with SDLs with white primer only.

The window salesman stated that I had a larger selection of paint colors and that if the factory painted windows were damaged during construction, we would never be able to match the finish. Made sense to me. Guess I need to reach out to my favorite painter to get a quote. Ugh.

Next question...what type of paint is recommended for wood windows? Latex? Oil? (I'm in central Florida). And should I try to get him to paint them before installation? Not sure that will be possible.

https://www.marvin.com/products/care-and-maintenance

Marvin has some good instructions.

painting them before can be tricky since they will take a lot of space. I think with casements it would be easier with then installed . I would talk with your painter. Ask you painter how they are going to do it and products they would use. watch out since there sre a lot of hack painters out there and they like to paint and spray things they shouldn’t sometimes. I prefer oil and laquers vs latex on trim,windows, doors and cabinets but many painters do not like to work with these products.

@Toddinmn- thanks! I'll read the directiond from Marvin. I had always thought the same with oil/lacquer on trim. I don't know the difference between oil based and lacquer. More research to do.

Latex takes a week to set up without being sticky/tacky and sticks worse when you are in a humid environment. Lacquer Ive heard is hard to work around because of the fumes and oil based is difficult to clean up on site. Of course paint professionals would know more. This is what ive heard from my cabinet maker. He uses lacquer but only finishes cabinets in his workshop where he has the proper PPE and paint room.

Thanks everyone. I read the "site finishing" instructions for my Kolbe windows and they specify that for their latex primed windows, they should be finished in exterior acrylic latex topcoat.

With current humidity level of 74%, I'm thinking about delaying window installation as long as I can in hopes of lower humidity levels. One more hurdle.
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