Hey ltd, and all the ships at sea (am I dating myself or what??) The learning curve, if your are the least bit creative, and I know you all are, is...nil! I hadn't a clue when I bought the airbrush, not the slightest idea how to use it. Since I was not going to be attempting to do fine art with it and intended to use it more as a fine spray painter than anything else, all I had to learn was how to make it work for my purpose. The principle that makes the airbrush work is a vacuum, in my opinion. On the lower level you have a bottle of paint, connected through a tube on an upward angle to a conical tip which is attached to the airbrush handle above. Through this handle, compressed air is forced directly out over the top of that conical tip creating a vacuum thereby drawing the paint up and out the tip! Make sense? So, the thicker the paint, the higher amount of compressed air it will take to draw that paint out of the bottle. Since I use exterior latex, as I said before, I just wing it, pour about 1/2 the bottle with paint, add about 1 Tbs. of water and an equal amount of Bonding Agent (optional). Stir or shake it up well. Again, in my opinion, the more power your compressor has, the better. I never did the math and don't know the psi on mine since the dials, although they look good, don't work, but I have been using this system for the past 2 years and the airbrushes haven't complained a bit. I think the airbrushes just demand whatever air they require - like any air tool, the compressor stores the rest and cranks up when reserves are low and everyone is happy. Cleanup time is minimal with water-based latex of course. Tell you what, when you get all set up,email me your phone number and I will call you and walk you through it. The only variable, once you have your paint thinned a bit, is how to adjust the nozzle. It is easier than you think. Hope this has helped! Amanda

Nick you won't have an algae problem for a long time. You live in a very dry climate so the air sucks the moisture out. Eventually you will get it and with your structure having a wood frame, it will be very hard to eliminate. I don't use a fogger but after a couple of years I started getting it on the lower half of the poly where the natural humidity gathers. It is easy to remove - it is having to crawl under the tables with the bucket and sponge that is the hard part. I can't imagine how much RO water you run through with the fogger. I would be too cheap to waste 2/3 of the water. It would be cheaper to replace the fogger. Brooke

LOL paint chips, you sound like my hubby when things start swimming around in MY head. He hates it when I say "I've been thinking". I have used Krylon for plastics and know of others that have too and it wears very well on something that isn't banged around. Like planters. Not sure how it would be for a trash can though. Now if my "trash can" you mean waste basket that's used inside you should have no trouble. Here is a link that might be useful: Krylon Fusion. Make sure to either scroll or choose see all colors.

lazygardens I love that blog site too. I could never understand why all beige samples read green to me until i read her blog and realized much of my furnishings and drapery were green which were reflecting on my perception of the color on my walls. Aktillary nobody else's use of a color in their home will read the same way in your home. you have to do the sample boards and move them around. When I'm lazy I paint the colors on paper plates and tape them to the wall; that also isolates the color with a white background instead of the background color of what's already on the wall which will also affect your perception of the color chip. It's been 2 months and my paperplates are still taped all over the walls. When company comes over and they give me odd looks I just tell them "don't ask" ! Good luck