Some excellent tips here that will surely benefit a lot of people who are reading....that includes me! Thanks so much for all the sharing! I didn't know how to explain the tip I had so I went looking for an example. I am going to explain this from a crafter's point of view. The example in this YouTube Video....at the 1:49 mark, shows what I was trying to explain in my head but didn't come out in type very well. What you'll see at the 1:49 mark is what's called a sharp, Chisel Edge. You get that from a Good Quality Brush Only. Don't cheap out when it comes to cutting in. My personal pref is a Purdy Brush but I've used a couple others in a pinch, with good results. I've tried every tape made, and probably almost every edge painting gadget made but just never could get the hang of a straight line. Until..... Someone told me to make sure I have a good quality, angle brush which will give you that nice sharp chisel edge, making it almost too easy to create a straight line....wall against ceiling, wall against baseboard, etc. I still struggle with medium-textured walls against a heavily textured ceiling but I'm getting a little better because as they say, practice makes almost perfect. *smile* And I cheat and use my #10 Loew-Cornell Flat, White Nylon bristles w/yellow handle brush. Again, that small brush makes a nice chisel edge and I can work that paint right up into each little nook of the wall/ceiling without getting any on the texture of the ceiling (well, almost never). Whether you decide to use a small artist brush to fill in the areas you couldn't get in close to with the large paint brush, or you decide a non-angle brush feels better in your hand, remember the key is to get a brush that makes a nice, crisp chisel edge when the bristles are wet. Also, play around with a few different paint brushes ......straight edge, angle, wide, 1 inch, etc. You'll get the feel of the brush.........at least with me, with my artists' brushes, I like the feeling that my brushes are an extension of my hand. Same with larger paint brushes. Holding the angle brush almost like a pen, before you know it, you'll be able to adjust the straightness of the line just by putting a little presser on the first finger or releasing a little bit. Have fun with this....it's a great learning experience! Most of all, don't get frustrated if things aren't as perfectly straight as you'd like. There are so many ways to 'fix' the hills and valleys and as they say...."it's only paint". *smile* Here is a link that might be useful: Sharp Chisel Edge @ 1:49 - YouTube

Hi Michael, Thanks for the response. I'll sand it down and use the 123. That's what I had at home, but of course the ICI guy had to sell us on his instead of the Zinnser...can I put a bit of Floetrol in the Gripper to make it friendlier so I can use it rather than scrap it entirely? And PHEW about the application technique...A question about the wet-to-dry: I use rollers on the walls and have never had problems with lines or anything...could you please explain wet-to-dry, as in let's say you paint 8" of moulding. Then you put more paint on the brush-do you start where the paint ended or do you start, say, 8" *away* from where the paint ended and work back to the end of the last brush? Just so I can be sure. If I start where the first 8" ended, I get a ridge...thanks in advance. Off to sand.

It is so nice to know someone else is already going through this process. I'm a firm believer in trying to learn from the experiences of others! I've read through the forum quite a bit and your posts, along with Michael's and bayareafrancie have been invaluable in sorting out what I need to do this project and what I can expect. Your method of priming, painting, then priming elsewhere sounds logical. I'm going to follow that advice. I think that way too I can see some of the end result and hopefully not lose steam. I've only used the Dale brush for cutout work (it's great for that) but I might buy a couple of different brushes in different sizes and see which one works best and then buy a few of them. I've read elsewhere that with the Impervo, if you are painting for long enough, the brush can get gummed up and it's nice to have an extra to keep going. I'm going to practice some on shelves in my daughters room first to try and get a feel for how it works. I am painting doors and window trim. The doors I know are going to be a project. I think we might take them down and spray them, (I might even be able to convince my husband to pay someone for that!) but I'm doing them last, regardless. But they are ugly flat panel doors and the finish on them doesn't even match the current stained trim. They may have to wait until after we move. A bunch of the closets have louvered doors (they do match the trim!) too so spraying is really the best way to go. I'm going with white, not cream. I've got to decide on which white in a couple of hours though. I'm buying everything today and hope to start tomorrow. BM White (01) or White Dove is what the Impervo comes in. I'm going to go ask in the decorating forum for opinions. I'm leaning toward White (01) just because it's a "cleaner" white. But then I think White Dove is probably a little more forgiving, not being so stark. Are you doing white or cream? Now that you've done it, do you find that painting the trim really does lighten up a room?

I'm glad Christophern chimed-in here... Duron isn't avail. around the F/M area, so it's good to hear that appraisal. SOME builders & SOME "New-home" painters are notorious for using the cheapest paints/primers possible. * By re-priming, you eliminate any variance in surface-porosity which will affect your new paints' "eveness of sheen". * Adhesion of your new paint will greatly improve. Roller-covers/frames: * IMO...The best "sleeves" are the Purdy White-Doves. 90% of the time, a 3/8" nap is fine. Wooster's Pro-Dooz sleeves are very good too. * Roller-frame itself...Buy a good one! The $1.99 frames should be outlawed!!! * Most cheapo frames have only a 1/4" shank. This bends and twists so easy when you're trying to evenly finesse a coat of paint...drives me insane!!! * Look for/ask for a frame with a 5/16" shank. Much stiffer & easier to control the roller-squareness, expecially if using a pole. * My 2 faves are Wooster's green-handled "Shur-lock" roller-frame for $9.99; and Purdy's wood-handled frame with a metal threaded neck for the pole, also for $9.99. * We dropped the cheap frames/roller-covers we used to carry. With our C2 paint line retailing in the $40's/gal., we don't need crap equipment available to put it on!!! * I just brought in a new frame from Bestt/Liebco, called "Toughee", for $12.99! Slightly longer wood handle with a solid-metal collar/threaded-neck area. THIS baby will do some serious rolling!! (The COST of this is 4x what some cheapee frames retail for...) Faron