B.M makes a washable matte finish. That (or their less expensive flat) would be my preferred choice for a warmer looking wall in bedroom,dining room and living room. I know some folks like eggshell (and the gloss varies with brands) because it cleans better (not as good as their special matte,though) or is more reflective. I know some people like to use a flat or matte on the walls and eggshell on the ceiling. For these rooms, I would never use anything shinier than eggshell. Bathrooms, I prefer full or semi gloss. Kitchens- kinda depends on how much tile you have etc. The higher sheens are easier to clean, but it depends on the look you want. Wood Trim- Full or semi-gloss- latex for indoors I'm a strong believer in water based latex paints. Your brushes and rollers clean up better and it's healthier. There are some very low odor, no VOC or very low VOC paints on the market now, and Milk paint (I haven't used it). Oil based paints - I use them on metal window frames, sometimes on wood, but I don't think they're necessary. Clean and prep walls and trim. Use a good primer-if necessary. Zinsser makes good primer paint. Primers are latex,oil, or shellac. I mention the shellac (B-I-N) because it covers water stains or grease, mold, and stops odors better and dries really fast. Sometimes it's used as a touch up primer.

I actually find that all acrylic exterior paints set up too fast, not just Aura. Extender doesn't help enough either. Doors really need to be rolled and backbrushed. The roller is just used to get the paint on faster. You just need to be fast. Of course, DIY'ers are not fast and neither is every painter. Basically, the bottom line is that painting outside in the year 2009 sucks. I hate it and I'm a painter. The trend seems to be that manufacturers are making paints that are thicker and dry faster so it probably isn't going to get any better any time soon. I feel sorry for homeowners doing their own painting outside these days...truly I do. If I struggle to get decent results, how hard is it for them?

Thanks very much, guys! Phew! The scuffing sounds a bit less labor intensive! :-) Our painters suggested using the wasted paint on some exterior woodwork - doors, louvers etc. Do you think that a high gloss alkyd would be suitable for this purpose, or should we cut our losses?! Thanks again for all the advice!! Ruth

Omigod -- I lovelovelove this look! I go bananas for those ultra-glossy doors. Yum yum. I live in a 13 year-old "traditional" style house, and when we painted it three years ago we had the front door and sidelights (inside and out) painted in oil-based super-duper glossy Ben Moore black. Yowza! I continue to love it, and we have little kids who put their hands on EVERYTHING and it a) is a breeze to clean (I am addicted to Windex) and b) I actually don't care. Mostly what I find I need to do on the exterior is dust it. In our community, we were one of the first to paint the door: just about everyone still had (has) the natural wood, and they look pretty crappy (weather, go figure). But lots of neighbors and passersby would stop and talk to us about the door and we've seen many more doors painted since then, and it looks so chipper! I thought I had a better picture of the front door but I don't, and it's dark now so inside or out whatever picture I took would turn out weird. So, in this picture you can see some of the glossiness (lusciousness!) of the front door. In a previous house we painted just the exterior of the front door Fine Paints of Europe candy apple red. We removed the door from the hinges and laid it out in the garage where I strained that paint and sanded in between coats. Now *that* was a thing of beauty ... but this one, without all the rigmarole and sanding, looks pretty fantastic (if I do say so myself). Happy front door! And please post pictures!