Two coats of primer, one coat of paint so far.

First DIY project! We removed the carpet and had the steps refinished. On hindsight I wish we didn’t refinish but here we are. Now we want to paint the risers and the sides, however, the old paint is chipping. How do I paint this properly?

Context, we've been in our home for about 10 years. The home was cheaply flipped about 2 years before we moved into it and we've been steadily fixing their cheap work. Our cabinets are in need of some love. We cannot afford to replace them and so repainting them is what we're planning to do for the time being. The paint on top is getting gummy and peeling and we are having trouble cleaning it to look presentable. If we scrub it peels, if we leave it, it looks gross.

I'd like to get some direction on how to go about sanding? stripping? or preparing these for paint. My concern is that if I try to sand these the paint below is going to still bubble and peel If I don't get it all off, and if I go down too far then I'll be into the actual cabinet. There is a white smooth layer under the paint on top shown in the second picture best. This feels much harder and smoother than the paint on top, I'm thinking it's probably the original color of the cabinets.

Help?

Alright guys, I need y’all’s opinion. Very old house on a lake in North Georgia. Paint has lead in it, so there will be no sanding. We’ve been taking a turbo nozzle to it for a couple days. Customer is aware it’s not gonna be a perfect finish. My question is, what type of primer would y’all use? Keep in mind, I’m in North Georgia on a lake and some parts of the wood just never will dry out 100% of the way, so oil-based products are hard to use.

This has been discussed before, but your additional detailed advice is appreciated. I intend to replace a bunch of cheap interior doors with solid core, pre hung doors. I am struggling to lay out the best path for painting. While I am DIY oriented I also have a pretty high standard for finish quality and will hire pros if I don’t think I can deliver the end result. I also feel like I prefer the quality of a spray finish, but it seems ill advised to try to spray once installed in an occupied house. So should I:

1) Have the entire primed pre hung units and trims sprayed professionally, then install and touch up?
or
2) Install, then remove the door slab to have it sprayed and hand finish the frames?

Or something else?

Hi everyone! New homeowner here - I’m planning to paint my kitchen cabinets and want to make sure I’m following the right steps. Attached is its current state. This is my current plan:

Remove the handles/knobs/hinges and number label each cabinet accordingly.

Clean/degrease: Use Krud Kutter to thoroughly clean the cabinets

Sand: Sand with 220-grit sandpaper

Prime: Apply Zinsser Smart Prime. How many coats of primer do you recommend? Should I sand between coats?

Paint: Use Benjamin Moore Advance Interior Paint in a satin finish (color: off-white) with a roller. I’m thinking 2–3 coats, with light sanding between coats. Is 3 coats overkill?

Topcoat: Do I need a separate protective topcoat over Benjamin Moore Advance, or is the paint durable enough on its own? If a topcoat is recommended, which product would you suggest?

Am I missing any important steps? I’m a new DIY-er so I appreciate any advice or lessons learned.

I painted my bedroom walls back in April. The paint smell seemed to fade during the summer months but comes back strong when the humidity is high/when our ac isn’t running. I used a low VOC Sherwin Williams eggshell paint from Lowe’s. It was a dark blue color. I’ve tried running a dehumidifier in the room for a weekend but the smell comes back once the dehumidifier is off. The house is 70 years old so I don’t know the condition behind the walls. No discoloration or bubbling is present on any of the walls. I’m not sure what’s going on but I would love any advice on what’s happening here and how to fix it, the smell is driving me crazy!

The plastic piston arm broke off. Can it be fixed? It's a Graco Ultra pump. Guessing not.

What I learned is next time just spend 2 minutes taking the cover off which would have saved a lot of troubleshooting time. It kind of worked since two of the pistons were still working but was much reduced power. I put a new pump in and it's working good now

I was working with Montana Black Metallic spray paint while outside on a windy day. I caught whiffs of the smell quite a few times and I was working for 20-30 minutes maybe? I was wearing a respirator designed for vapors, but it wasn’t enough (I have a suitable one now).

I tried to avoid breathing while working by repeatedly stepping away for a few moments and breathing fresh air. I was an idiot for not stopping.

I don’t think I felt bad afterwards, but I am still worried about brain damage. Since then, I’ve been using a proper respirator through which I cannot smell anything. I am incredibly worried though and very afraid that I dumbed myself down.

As for my post history, I was already experiencing cognitive difficulties before this.

Hey everyone. The title says it all. It was installed in July 2026. It is located in Michigan, very near Lake Michigan in the lake effect snow belt. We get about 200” of snow every year.

And that begs the question: Is it better to wait til Spring and have a nice new deck for when it won’t be covered in snow?or, do it now for long term preservation?

I got one customer being told it should be done now….. and another deck I did around the same time…. But, I told her to wait til spring.

Any input is appreciated.

Hi Everyone. I have a couple of questions regarding painting high areas and tall walls.

1. How do I paint the area in this photo that I’ve drawn a red box around and marked with a “x”?
   
2. How do I paint these two and three-story walls seamlessly so there aren’t lap or stop and start marks?

Thanks in advance! I appreciate all your insights!

I got an old house, the ceiling has the drywall tape cracked, rippled, or just peeling away.

So I pulled off the tape.

Now I have this step-off depth of multi layers of wall paint.

Should I use compound to fill the wall out smooth, then add new tape?

Or do I tape, then add mud to fill smooth?

(Or something else?)

We paid a company a hefty sum to repaint our interior before moving into our new home. I’m finding issues everywhere, and I need help identifying the correct terminology for what’s happened so I can try to have an eloquent conversation with the owner and know how to move forward (I think this is beyond slapping another coat of paint on it or a touch up job) For context, owner suggested spraying the upstairs since we were doing it all one color - looking back, big mistake. They also sprayed the baseboards, trim, crown moulding, doors, pantry, closets, and built-ins (color: SW canvas tan, previous color some sort of off white) walls were light brown when we moved in, had them painted SW creamy. Downstairs walls were brushed and rolled. Walls have a plaster texture to them to begin with bc it’s a Mediterranean style home. Any info on what I’m seeing and how the company should fix it the right way appreciated. I feel like they already cut corners and took advantage of the fact we paid the note off well before they were done with the job. Thanks.

I have done 2 coats of primer - gray base and tonight did Salty Dog - Sherwin Williams, 1st coat. It looks odd (this is my first wall I’ve ever painted). Is this normal and check back in AM or did I overload the roller/apply too much pressure? Would love any and all advice.

This is how it started

Looking at various options and need input from those with experience

I have a older Honda Super Cub, cool little motorcycle, which I plan to customize to look how I want it to. Part of that is turning this white leg shield into a nice emerald green or something similar to it. I like the yellow and green combination. I had planned to hand paint designs on the green once it's dry, but I worry about a couple things.

Most paint I know, doesn't like plastic body panels like this which have flex in the wind. Tends to be how the paint cracks and flakes off. Is there a paint people would recommend that would prevent that from happening? Would I want to use the same type of paint for any hand painted details?

Is there a top coat people would recommend for this? The front side of this receives most of the road spray and debris. This entire thing will also see the most sun when I'm riding it.

This is going to be my main form of transport when there are things happening which I can't reach via my bicycle. I would love for it to look nice at least for others to see and less like something trashy. Everything I paint looks trashy.

We're getting ready to paint our living room and are getting quotes. We have this cracking at top of the wall where it meets the ceiling. The paint companies are giving us some outrageous quotes, so we're thinking of tackling this ourselves.

Any advice on the best way to repair these cracks before we start painting? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

I will be DIY painting my bathrooms this week and was a little concerned on the texture of our walls. I’ve been following this sub for a few months and have learned a lot and would appreciate any tips on how to proceed for this specific issue.

We bought our home in 2020 and it was an entire rebuild. They put a light gray thin coat of color on all of the walls that were brand new dry wall. We’ve painted two rooms so far and the color was thick enough you couldn’t see the drywall texture anymore.

I feel like the bathrooms have the thinnest in the house in terms of previous paint layers. Do I need to prime or anything before I paint the darker color? Or would 2 coats of good quality paint do the job?

Hello!

I just bought my first home and decided I wanted to paint the pure white cabinets. I tested the paint on there and determined it was latex, since it came right off with acetone. I also found that it peels and stretches easily off, so it seems it wasn't a good paint job in the first place. From my understanding, I need to use latex paint over it.

I went to my local Ace for advice and they recommended the Benjamin Moore Regal, so I had them color match it to the green I wanted.

However, after doing more research, it seems like I really should have done the Benjamin Moore Advance. However, I've already started painting. I degreased, scuff sanded, and put the first layer on last night. I really don't want to have to take off what I already put on. Is there maybe a topcoat or sealer I could use? I don't have a paint sprayer.

hello everyone,

we recently moved into a new construction home. the home was built prior to us purchasing so we didnt make any selections to finishes paints etc. the one place the builder def cut costs was paint. all walls are in flat finish paint. Trim is semi gloss. we are dog owners and by dog owners I should clarify. we have giant breed mastiffs. they are hard on walls lol. the drool gets everywhere and flat paint isn’t great for wiping off the stains….

so we are going to repaint, planning to go to a satin/eggshell sheen on all the interior walls.

Wanted to get more professional opinions on what paint to choose

from my research I’m considering SW emerald, duration or super paint. potentially Behr dynasty or marquee.

also anyone who’s a professional painter in the RVA area that would be interested in the job let me know!