About a month ago, I took out all of the aluminum clad jalousie crank windows from my trailer. With an electric drill I removed 8 screws apiece and they pulled easily away from the putty sealant. So here I am, a month later, with a total of five windows ranging from 14 X 16 inches, to a large 16 X 28 inch kitchen window, trying to clean up the pitted, oxidized, and dirty surfaces. As the fall turns rainy, I am anxious to get them put back in all shiny and new. In an entire month, here is the pitiful progress i have made so far. I have spent about $100 on new cut glass. I have priced out rescreening for about $12 a piece for aluminum (not vinyl) screen, and I have tried every cleaning product imaginable from Goof-Off to pure lemon juice to 200 grit sandpaper to remove the black dirt and pits from the surface of the windows. And as it turns out there is no silver bullet. In order to bring the shine back to these windows, I've had to sand them down to find the hidden clean aluminum underneath. Every track and surface is currently being sanded down by hand, a project I wish I could outsource, but I'd never be able to afford the cost in hours of labor. Still I am committed and a perfectionist enough to do the work myself. They are starting to look really amazing and the hard work is paying off. The flat surfaces are going to look scratched and I'm going to try to use a polishing cloth to bring back an original new look. If they still don't look the way I want, I am thinking of painting the flat parts of each window with a stainless steel appliance paint from home depot. If any one has done this before and has some advice on how to avoid this 21st century fix, I'd be really thankful.
If you are looking for a resource for replacement parts on Jalousie windows, go to http://www.pickenswindowparts.com/jalousie.html
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