Painting

[diggitydot]

Most stand-alone, major manufacturer paint stores are pretty good about rotating out old/expired stock. But that's a good point. If you're in a really rural area, keep a keen eye out. Their stock may not be the freshest.

I do not ever recommend buying paint (or associated sundries) at a hardware or big box store. Even if they accidentally have knowledgable staff, they rarely have quality materials, too.

[HouseofWool]

I've been pretty happy with the Behr paint from HD which is 2/3 the price of the stand alone store prices here. I simply cannot afford to pay $50/gal for SW when the Behr works fairly well and is $30/gal. I did buy the higher end brushes and rollers though. *shrug* They work well enough for me.

[diggitydot]

Behr makes some good products, but you have to be careful because they also make some shit.

I would recommend signing up for Sherwin-Williams online coupons. They regularly send out very good ones that can save you a TON of money. Also, the contractor line products at SW will be FAR better quality than even middle line coatings carried by big box stores.

Good quality applicators make a HUGE difference in the look of paint AND your experience applying the coating.

[Sheherezade]

For plaster patching, work fast/small and do a skim coat after the plaster dries with taping mud. You can sand and paint that afterwards. If you'd like to make the plaster easier to work with, you can mix the wet plaster with a bit of taping mud in small batches. It slows the dry time and makes it easier to work with.

[ides]

Taping mud. I'll get some of that. Thanks.

I think I choose a good caulk. Picked it up at Home Depot. I've already caulked the bathtub upstairs so I feel fairly confident with my caulking skills

I've been getting my roller covers and paint sans the primer at SW. I couldn't find the nap in roller covers I wanted at Home Depot. SW seems to have fairly frequent sales. Just got a bunch of paint at 40% off. I did sign up for emails as well and have gotten a $10 off coupon and a 25% off coupon. Their paint is expensive but its comparable in price with the sales/coupons.

[ides]

Oh, got a utility knife. Thanks!

[ides]

Got the first coat of paint off the fireplace. Good bye black!! It took about 10 hrs of scrapping. I will be leaving it for awhile before the next session commences.

[HouseofWool]

I can't believe they covered that neat brickwork.

[ides]

I know! It's got lots of character.

[moonlight]

I'm amazed! Is it white brick or is that a primer coat of paint?

[ides]

I'm pretty sure it's white primer over turquoise and another cream layer. I'm guessing from glimpses that the brick is all grey. Going to uncover it and if we don't like it we'll repaint it but with different colors to highlight the brickwork. Right now I'm really pleased its not black!

[GreyhoundsRUs]

It's so cool - great character!

[BonBon]

That is beautiful! I can't believe they painted over it.

[ides]

Another question- the wall guy finished skim coating the walls today. I have done the final cleanup & floor mopping. He swept the dust off the walls before he vacuumed them but if you touch the wall it's still really dusty. He said I could prime it but I'm worried Ill make a mess or mess up the primer with dust. My question is- should I vacuum the wall? Would that be madness or save me?

[BonBon]

I'm sure DD will chime in, but what I did when we were building was to slightly dampen a microfiber cloth and just wipe them down. Also, when you prime it, that has to be sanded too. (In my experience - our walls were bumpy after being primed so they sanded them down.)