Colour Guide

Anthracite grey uPVC: the aluminium look, without the aluminium price

Q: Can white uPVC really be sprayed anthracite?

Yes, and it is the single most common uPVC request. The colour change from chalky white to anthracite grey is dramatic because it changes the entire read of a frontage. The technical work is in the adhesion system, not the colour: uPVC is a low-energy plastic that ordinary paint will not grip, so it needs a primer designed for plastics before the topcoat.

Q: How much does it cost?

Window frames start at £150 each with a £495 minimum on windows-only jobs. Doors start at £395 including both sides. Front of house, meaning door plus three windows, starts at £745. A full house of frames starts at £1,595. The Full Front Refresh at £1,295 covers garage door, front door and front-elevation frames in one visit in the agreed colour and sheen.

Q: Will the windows still open and seal properly?

Yes. Seals, gaskets, hinges, handles, locks and trickle vents are masked rather than coated, so nothing that needs to move or flex is stiffened. Glass is fully masked. A window that opens, closes and locks properly before will do exactly the same afterwards.

Q: Can I have grey outside and white inside?

Yes, and it is very common, because the street and the room are different design problems. Anthracite outside with white or light grey inside means separate masking and spray sessions, so mention it at quoting stage rather than after.

Q: Does anthracite make a room darker?

Frames are a small proportion of a window opening, so the effect on internal light is minimal. That said, a dark frame does visually narrow the aperture slightly, which is exactly why plenty of people spray anthracite outside and keep the internal faces white.

Q: Will it match my anthracite front door or garage door?

Sprayed from the agreed colour and sheen, yes, which is the advantage of doing frames, door and garage door in one visit. Matching a factory-finished anthracite door that has already weathered is a different exercise, and in that case the colour can be matched from the door itself rather than from the RAL standard.

Tired white or dated brown uPVC sprayed anthracite grey is the most requested transformation there is, and the one that changes a frontage most for the least money. Here is how it holds up.

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Frames from £150

Doors from £395

Seals and glass masked

3-year exterior guarantee

RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey #373F43 · the standard anthracite for frames and doors

Why anthracite took over

Fifteen years ago a uPVC window came in white, and if you wanted something else you paid a premium for a woodgrain foil. Then aluminium windows became the aspirational choice, aluminium meant anthracite grey, and the whole market followed. Anthracite is now the default specification on new builds and replacement windows alike.

The result is that white uPVC no longer reads as neutral. It reads as older, particularly once it has chalked and yellowed, which UV does to white uPVC over roughly fifteen to twenty years. Brown and mahogany-effect frames date a frontage faster still.

Spraying gets you the current specification on the frames you already own. Replacing uPVC windows costs £350 to £950 each, or £4,000 to £9,000 for a full house. Spraying a full house of frames starts at £1,595, and the windows keep the glazing, mechanisms and fit that were working perfectly well already.

At a glance

Anthracite grey on uPVC

RAL reference	RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey is the standard. RAL 7015 slate grey and RAL 7024 graphite grey are the usual alternatives if you want slightly lighter or slightly bluer.
Approximate hex	#373F43. Indicative only. No screen reproduces a coating accurately, and grey is the worst offender for this.
Recommended sheen	Satin. It sheds rain and road film, cleans easily, and does not exaggerate every small variation across a large frame area the way gloss does.
Coating system	Degrease, key, plastics adhesion primer, then two coats of suitable topcoat. Exterior surfaces get a weather-resistant system matched to the substrate, confirmed in your quote. Not decorative paint.
Suits	uPVC window frames, front and back doors, French doors, bifolds, conservatory and porch frames, and uPVC cladding. Composite doors use the same approach.
Typical cost	Frames from £150 each, £495 minimum on windows-only work. Doors from £395 both sides. Full house of frames from £1,595. Prices final, as ProFinish is not VAT registered.
Never coated	Glass, seals, gaskets, hinges, handles, locks and trickle vents are all masked, so nothing that moves or flexes is stiffened.
Guarantee	Written three-year exterior finish guarantee on uPVC work.

Suitability

When spraying uPVC anthracite is the right call

The dividing line is cosmetic versus mechanical. Faded colour is what this is for. Failed windows are not.

Chalky, yellowed white

The classic candidate. UV degrades the surface of white uPVC over fifteen to twenty years, leaving it chalky and uneven. That degraded layer is washed and prepared back so the coating bonds to sound material underneath.

Brown and woodgrain frames

Dark brown and mahogany-effect uPVC dates a house more than almost anything else. Textured woodgrain has more surface area and takes longer to prepare, but it sprays well and the change is transformative.

Doors as well as windows

uPVC and composite front doors, back doors, French doors and bifolds all take the same system. Doing the door and frames together in an agreed colour and sheen is how you get a genuine match rather than a near one.

Conservatories and porches

Conservatory and porch frames are frequently the most weathered uPVC on a house because of their exposure. They spray on the same basis, quoted on frame count and access.

Not for blown units

Misted double glazing is a failed sealed unit and a glass problem. Spraying the frame around it changes nothing. Replace the unit first, then spray the frames.

Not for cracked or distorted frames

Cracks, heat distortion, frames pulling from the brickwork and failed locking mechanisms are replacement territory. Coating them hides the problem for a season, which serves nobody.

Reference imagery

How a dark satin finish reads on uPVC

Colour and finish references showing the surface a sprayed finish produces on plastic frames. Not photographs of ProFinish customer projects.

uPVC door in a dark satin finish, colour reference — Example finish / colour inspiration, not a ProFinish customer project. A dark satin coating on uPVC, showing the even brush-mark-free surface spraying gives.

uPVC frames masked and prepared for spraying, reference image — Example finish / colour inspiration, not a ProFinish customer project. The extent of masking uPVC needs. Glass, seals, vents and hardware are protected, never coated.

The images above are colour and finish references used to show how a shade reads on a surface. They are not photographs of ProFinish customer projects. Genuine ProFinish work is published in Our Work as each job is completed and the customer is happy for it to be shown.

Getting it right

Decisions worth making before you book

Outside only, or both faces

Exterior only is the common choice on windows, since that is what faded and what the street sees. Internal faces need internal masking and dust protection, and are quoted separately rather than assumed.

Which anthracite

RAL 7016 is the standard and the safest choice for matching existing anthracite. RAL 7015 and 7024 are worth seeing if you want a slightly different weight of grey.

Bundle the frontage

Have the frontage assessed together for a coordinated colour scheme and work plan. The final quote lists the number and size of surfaces, repairs, access requirements and expected duration. Larger frontages and double garages are quoted individually.

Sills, cladding and trims

uPVC sills, fascia trims and cladding are often the most weathered elements and are easy to overlook. They are cheap to include while set up and expensive to come back for.

Expect weather scheduling

Exterior spraying needs dry conditions and sensible temperatures for the coating to flow and cure correctly. If a day is wrong for it, it gets moved rather than rushed.

Confirm the shade first

Once your booking deposit is received you can ask for a sprayed sample panel in your chosen grey and sheen, where practical for the job. Grey shifts more than any other colour family between overcast and direct sun.

Ask About a Sample

Straight answer on whether a sample makes sense for your job.

Questions

Straight answers

Can white uPVC really be sprayed anthracite?

Why does painted uPVC peel on some houses?

Because household gloss was brushed straight onto it with no adhesion system. That is the failure everyone has seen in a neighbour's porch, and it is a process failure rather than evidence that uPVC cannot be coated. Degreasing, keying, a plastics adhesion primer and a compatible coating system is a different job entirely, and exterior work here carries a written three-year finish guarantee.

How much does it cost?

Will the windows still open and seal properly?

Can I have grey outside and white inside?

Does anthracite make a room darker?

How does it compare to buying anthracite windows?

Will it match my anthracite front door or garage door?

Thinking about transforming yours?

Send a photo of your frontage, a close-up of one frame so the condition is visible, and a rough count of how many windows you have. That is enough for a guide price and an honest answer on whether the frames are worth spraying.

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