Barb thought it might be a good idea to document the paint colors and techniques we’re using, and what better place to do that than the blog? We’re doing a 3-coat process–sealer, primer, and color.
The sealer we’re using on the new drywall is a product called [SuperHide][]. It keeps the primer from getting sucked into the bare wallboard. We normally wouldn’t need a sealer on the old plaster since it has already been painted, but the people who lived in the house for ~55 years before us smoked. A **lot**! Click on the photo below for a higher resolution, if you dare…
We’re using [Zinsser 1-2-3][zinsser] to seal the nicotine into the old plaster and keep it from staining our new paint. (Kind of gross to think of it that way. Makes me want to tear out all the old plaster, but that’s impractical.)
Once the sealer has dried, we’re applying the primer. For the walls, we had our paint supplier add some tint to the primer, so that it’s easy to distinguish the primer from the sealer. (Otherwise we’d be painting white-on-white.) Since our ceiling color is almost white, we can’t tint the ceiling primer.
The final step is the color coat. We’re using [Aura paint][] throughout the house. It’s pretty expensive but well worth it! We first tried the Aura line when we painted our living room last year. We like it because:
1. One-coat coverage — No second color coat (and cleanup!) required.
2. Bullet-proof touchup — If we miss a spot, we just paint it later. Once the patch is dry, it blends in perfectly with the rest of the wall/ceiling.
3. Coordinated palette — I don’t know how to explain this, but all the Aura colors “go” with each other.
We’re getting all our paint from [Pryde’s Paint and Paper][pryde]. (Annoying web site, but the staff is excellent!) This is one of the few places where we had to present any documentation in order to qualify for a contractor’s discount, but the discount is *absolutely* worth the effort. Pryde’s regular prices are a bit steep, especially for the high-grade paint and primers we’re using, while the discounted prices are competitive with Home Depot. (And of course, Home Depot’s best paint can’t hold a candle to the stuff we’re buying from Pryde.)
Here are the colors we’re using. Sadly, I can’t just link directly to the color pallet on the Aura site, so the best I can do is give the color name below:
* Ceilings (whole house) — Sonnet
* Trim (whole house) — Mascarpone
* Living room — Glacial Till
* Entry & hallway — Truffle
* Game room — Soleil
* Great room — Croquet
* Kitchen & nook — Solitude
* Laundry/utility room — Buttered Yam
* Bathroom — Fiji
[pryde]: http://www.prydesofsacramento.com/home/index.html
[SuperHide]: http://tinyurl.com/2hy76o
[zinsser]: http://www.zinsser.com/ “‘Connection reset’ errors on 2007-11-11”
[Aura paint]: http://www.myaurapaint.com/#about “Warning! Flash-based website, not very pleasant to use, and I can’t link directly to the colors”
If you plan to paint, you need to send for this FREE DVD from Purdy. I learned so much from it! For instance, did you know you shouldn’t wipe your brush against the side of the paint can? Just tap it against sides or you lose too much paint…and painting takes much longer.
Also, some paint brushes allow you to “cut in” or paint straight along the edges of trim and baseboards without using tape. You need to use an angular trim paint brush designed for the purpose.
Plus, if you have been worried about using a roller to paint walls and large surfaces, this DVD will show you how. It’s not difficult and you can be done in no time compared to using a paint brush.
To get the FREE DVD, go to the Purdy web site at http://www.purdycorp.com/bl, go to the Contact Us page, click on the link for a free DVD.
Heather is a paid shill. She’s an employee of M Force/ Brown & Martin, Purdy’s marketing company. Details here:
http://www.ownrecognizance.com/purdy.html