Coatings that paint history
Where care is taken with historic windows, surfaces deserve the same attention.
Paintwork is more than a finish. It protects the underlying timber, contributes to the building’s breathability and gives visual expression to its age and architecture. Especially in heritage settings, the way a surface is built up, maintained or carefully renewed often determines how long a window will last – and how much of its character survives.
This is why Schreinerei Eigenmann has maintained its own in-house painting division since 2019 – to ensure that windows are not only restored structurally and functionally, but also in a way that respects their visual and material integrity. Whether in listed ensembles or well-preserved private homes, we treat painted surfaces with the same rigour and attention as the joinery behind them.
Looking beneath the surface
The first step is analysis: What build-up is present? What layers lie beneath the surface? What binding agents were used? To answer these questions, we take on-site samples, embed them in epoxy resin and examine them under a microscope. Stepwise exposures and test openings help reveal historical paint layers. The results are coordinated with heritage conservation authorities. From there, the next steps follow: refurbishment, renovation or restoration.
Even in non-listed buildings, we avoid quick fixes. Each surface is assessed. Is it sound? What needs to be repaired or reinforced? Only then do we clean, sand, fill, oil or rebuild the coating – ensuring a finish that protects without sealing, and endures without smothering.
Looking beneath the surface
The first step is analysis: What build-up is present? What layers lie beneath the surface? What binding agents were used? To answer these questions, we take on-site samples, embed them in epoxy resin and examine them under a microscope. Stepwise exposures and test openings help reveal historical paint layers. The results are coordinated with heritage conservation authorities. From there, the next steps follow: refurbishment, renovation or restoration.
Even in non-listed buildings, we avoid quick fixes. Each surface is assessed. Is it sound? What needs to be repaired or reinforced? Only then do we clean, sand, fill, oil or rebuild the coating – ensuring a finish that protects without sealing, and endures without smothering.
Painting of historic surfaces
Each object and project is treated individually – including those with complex profiles, varying absorption characteristics or delicate surface layers. After all, no two surfaces are the same. To preserve the historical appearance of the building components, we consistently use traditional paint materials and historic application techniques.
Their proper use requires specialist knowledge and extensive experience – because only what is technically appropriate can truly be considered heritage-compliant.
In addition to windows, we also care for other historic elements such as doors, timber panelling, and flush wall or ceiling surfaces. We also carry out general painting works within historic buildings. Materials and techniques are always selected to match the existing fabric – ensuring that the original appearance is preserved with expert care.
From doors to panelling – focusing on historic timberwork
Beyond windows, we also restore and refinish historic doors, timber panelling and interior wood surfaces. We carry out all painting works on historic buildings with the same degree of care and precision. What matters most is respectful handling of the existing substance: we choose materials and techniques that match the building’s period, surface qualities and intended historic appearance – ensuring that each element retains its original presence and integrity.
Integrated services, seamlessly coordinated
Our painters are part of the project from the beginning. They plan alongside joiners, architects and conservation officers.
When will sashes be removed? When must original graining be preserved? When does glazing need to be bedded in? These are questions that shape both the process and the outcome. Painting is not a final step – it is a continuous presence throughout the work.
In heritage projects especially, painting becomes a mediator. It balances the technical with the visual, the practical with the respectful. It ensures that what’s added does not overwhelm what was there before.
Reading the details
Every window tells a story – through its proportions, its fittings, its texture, its colour. But those stories are often told in fragments. Our job is to read them, respect them, and preserve them where we can.
We don’t see painting as decoration. We see it as substance. As a continuation of joinery with other means. As a craft that protects, restores and completes. A window should not only function. It should be seen – and understood – as part of the building’s character.
