Refresh for old casement windows

last year

last modified: last year

I've searched Houzz discussions and beyond to no avail, so here goes: We have wood casement windows by Anderson from 1975 that are still in excellent condition, not a soft spot on them thanks likely to very deep awnings. We've invested in painting them white inside and out (previously the typical drab dark 1970s brown stain) to match the rest of our trim.

Now the "stone" color latches and cranks, basically a gray plastic look, stand out along with the screens with "stone" colored frames that sit on the inside of the outswing casements. We want to find these parts in white. According to the Anderson parts website and a human I spoke with at their call center, they do not offer these parts in white. Is there an after-market supplier of these products (crank handles, plates the cranks attach to, latches, and screens) in white? For 20 windows this will cost a chunk of change, but WAY less so than replacing perfectly good windows!

Additionally I'd like to add paintable wood grills / muntins (Colonial style), which again does not seem to be available through Anderson for our old window style. I've seen some dated comments on Houzz recommending various companies for this after-market product, one of which is no longer taking orders and the other didn't respond to my inquiry, so tips on that are most welcome too. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (5)

PRO
HALLETT & Co.
last year
White spray paint for the hardware?
HU-43329266 thanked HALLETT & Co.
HU-43329266
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
I'd love if that's a viable option but would think that would create issues with moving parts scraping/peeling the paint coating, i.e. rotating crank arms and especially latches that pop open and closed? To be clear they certainly seem to be plastic, at least in part (as opposed to metal), but I guess Rustoleum might stick. If someone has done this with good results I'd love to know!
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apple_pie_order
last year
See if you can find a piece of identical "stone" hardware on ebay, then try spray painting it as a test.
HU-43329266 thanked apple_pie_order
HU-910663146
last year
I just donated a bunch of white grills from our Anderson windows (1987 house) to the local home building products goodwill type store (Chicagoland area). I asked them repeatedly if they even wanted them. They said they had a bunch already, but took them. I question whether ours would have worked with your windows anyway. I suggest you explore a bit to see if there is a similar type place around your area and/or look on Facebook marketplace.
HU-43329266 thanked HU-910663146
HU-43329266
Original Author
last year
Helpful ideas all, thank you. An update: The crank handle mechanism is still available in white as only the cover plate it attaches to changed in design over the years. I ordered 20 of those babies from Andersen and have also procured Rustoleum spray paint made for plastic (to do the screw cover plates below the handles, which are plastic) and traditional Rustoleum spray paint (to do the latches and screen frames, which are metal).

My husband thinks it's "fine as it is," but it's my hard-earned money and time so he can just be a sourpuss until he sees the improvement as with other things he was initially skeptical about! Ha. Honestly even if this treatment looks imperfect or like an apparent DIY up close, from a distance it will blend into our white windows and in my view that's a big visual improvement so long as nothing becomes less functional, i.e. an interior casement screen sticking. The painted casements themselves sometimes stick and have therefore peeled where they join when closed, even though professionals did that job, which is a bummer -- BUT IT STILL LOOKS BETTER THAN THE 1976 BROWN with our bright and airy home, and the windows still do their job!

As for grills I'll certainly check Marketplace thanks to that tip. Love any chance to both re-use for the environment and save money for the bank account.