How can I correct the following problem with the least amount of effort/work? I was going for that aged yellow tuscan color for my walls  I chose a gold base color and sponged on a beige glaze on top. My problem is that when the gold paint dried it was a little too orange (more like orange sorbet) and should have been a tone or two paler. Since I had already painted the entire first floor of my house with this color I decided to sponge on the beige glaze (with a heavy hand) and hope the slightly darker beige color would help tone down the orange. It did tone it down a little, but not enough. Is there anything I can do to bring out the yellow and downplay the orange? I was thinking of lightly brushing a brick/rust colored glaze on top. Is this a bad idea? I would really like to avoid repainting the entire first floor. But I also donÂt want to make a mess out of what is already there. The walls donÂt look terrible, it just screams orange to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

If you can feel bumps or humps, then those will likely show through the paint until you sand them off. There is really no need to use a poly for profects like this anyway. Just use high quality 100 percent acrylic paint in a washable finish (satin, semi-gloss, etc) and you should be done. The only time you may want to use a poly is when the paint is flat, but the better option is always going to be using a washable paint if you are looking for durability. Putting a poly on top of a paint does not make it more durable unless you are using really crappy paint.

I actually agree with the painters on #'s 1,2 and 4....well, sort of. There is no reason to prime when changing colors. This is a very common misconception that homeowners have. The only time you may want to prime is if the new color is a deep red or some poor covering color. For something like that you may want to use a grey primer. Or, since Aura has arrived, you can just use that. Two coats of Aura will cover anything 95 percent of the time. The rule is primer doesn't cover and that's not its job. It's job is to seal and provide a good base for your topcoat. Primer actually can be more expensive than paint. I use primer sometimes that retails for $45 a gallon. There are plenty of paints out there that cost less than that. But, if you are using a high quality primer, it is likely that you are also using a high quality paint as well so most times the primer is cheaper. I never prime over patchwork. The reason is that it is a complete waste of time. If I am using a washable paint, then I can just use that washable paint as a primer. I see no reason to actually get out a seperate bucket, roller, grid, brush, etc because I can accomplish the same thing with my finish paint. The key is to put enough coats of paint over the porous patching compound so that it 'catches up' with the rest of the wall. If your paint is soaking into the patch and not soaking into the wall around it, then it will flash. I'm sure this is what your painters are missing. Most paints these days look fine with two full coats over everything to avoid flashing. Now, if you are using a flat paint as your finish, spot priming patches is the absolute last thing you want to do. Again, primer seals so if you spot prime a patch, the wall will be sealed there so that when you come along with your topcoat, the paint will not soak in over that sealed spot like it does on the rest of the wall so you will get a flash. As for your painters, I believe that you should go to great lengths as any type of contractor to please your customer so they are certainly failing there. I also believe it is our job to educate the customer so that they know what we are doing is the correct procedure. We should supply our own tape and we should know that good paint cannot be bought at Home Depot or Lowes. I honestly think that ANY washable coating usually looks splotchy after one coat so that is normal and patches are usually still flashy after one coat. That second coat should even everything out. This is really why most real pro painters bid everything for two coats...it's pretty much an industry standard.

Easiest to replace with new Formica counters. Either stock ones from the big box or even scout Marketplace & Craigslist for used ones. You can find them for free or very little cost where folks are pulling them out & replacing with stone counters. Measure your base cabinets first & make sure they are somewhere around standard depth (24") .Standard stock laminate counters are around 25-26" deep. Or, for least amount of money, either replace the trim or invest in an orbital sander and clean up what you have. Fill, prime & paint. I have a Bosch orbital sander and like it a lot. https://www.thespruce.com/bosch-palm-random-orbit-sander-review-4771166