The cabinets I think were Cypress. I live in Louisiana & I have the remodel plans from the person that built the pool house addition & they call for cypress. That is a wood that is native to here but, the grain is much like an oak so maybe it is cypress or maybe it is oak. Anyway, there is definitely a grain to it. DH and i argued about the primer coats & how many to put. I won that won (not that it got me anything) because the ones I did don't show any graining with 2 coats of primer. The ones he did do. So if you have thick coat of stain and/or any top coat on oak, you have to sand really well first. Then 2 coats of primer are a must - IMHO. I can see the grain in the ones that DH did and it drives me nutso. Like the underneath of the upper cabs for example. If he had sanded better & done 2 coats of primer, I don't think you would see it since I don't see the grain on the other surfaces. Who knows though because they were custom cabs, the cabinet guy could have used other woods too. They are 8 years old. Don't be afraid though. It is a lot of work but, if you follow the advice on this forum, the result is worth it. The cabs are not that shiny, it's just the lighting in the pool house is not great. They are very pretty. To the poster that asked about DIY cabs, there are some, mostly though people rip out old and put in new. I think that totally depends on the age of the cabs and the condition. If you can save what you have you are technically "going green". How in vogue is that? If they are nasty and have no character to them, then you have to start over. I have seen several posts for people that re-did therofoil or whatever it is called. It is more detailed what needs to be done but, nonetheless, less than new cabs are. I have friends and have seen many posters whose cabinets were $75k. Wow, that's a ton of money. So if you can figure it out, use what you have! Go for it. A little at a time is fine too. If you hate your cabinets, paint them. There are many posters here that have black, blue, brown or white cabinets. All look good. If you can use what you have then a little paint is so cheap compared to new. To be honest, I have the same types of cabinets in my kitchen, laundry, DD bath in my 1950s/remodeled in 2000 house that are 8 years old. All of those cabinets, I will either paint or have painted professionally, the wood is not really nice enough to restain. The ones in my Master bath & guest bath that are original to the house and then painted from 1950, they are out. They are just flat front wood nothing cabinets. There is no saving those. Anything in the last 20 years thougth might be savagable. There are so many options for colors. I can post some colored cabinets from my inspiration file if you would like to see them. that will show you paint grade cabs that are just beautiful.

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?

A primer plus one coat of paint is the same thing as two coats of washable paint. Of course, this depends on the quality of the primer. A crappy primer that doesn't seal very well doesn't count as a first coat or a primer so you will need to apply two coats of washable finish paint over that to get the professional look. I don't even mess around anymore with trying to sell customers on the prime plus two coats system unless it is new drywall. In my heart, I just don't feel as if my customers will get the best bang for their buck that way. In other words, if I do primer plus two coats over a previously painted surface, it's not going to be a significantly better end result than if I just applied two coats of a high quality paint. The customer won't notice, so I just don't think it's necessary. Now, if the customers are wealthy people that want the best of the best, then of course I will do it. I would also do it in my own house.

QUOTE: It looks great in our bathroom and bedroom. Not dealing with a large two story foyer. QUOTE: It's a two-story foyer. As I was reading your first discussion, I said to myself "bet this is 2-story"; From what I read, may have over looked but I don't recall you saying what sheen you may have used; nevertheless , with a 2 story foyer or anything depending on how high is high, almost takes 2 people to perform that length of height and possibly scaffolding (depending again on how high you are talking about). One painting half way down and the other from the bottom up and lighting feathering or blending where the two meet. Flat finishes are IMO the best choices for 2 story heights. Doesn't mean this has to be the cheapest of the cheapest flats or you might try using an extender. My suggestion is to choose XIM xtender instead of the BM aura extender. XIM is not as heavy . So maybe one person might be able to paint from the top down so far and another person meet up with the finish, all the while trying to keep a consistent pressure on the ends of the roller frame. QUOTE: Oh, and we also did some brush touchups around the thermostat, etc., and the finish looks completely different from the rolled areas. Unfortunately, brush and roll with a roller sleeve is two completely different techniques, methods and applicators. Whatever you used originally, the style or technique used this is what needs to be used for touch ups and to use with the lightest touch or pressure and feathered out, (depending on how big a touch up is). QUOTE: And two sections of rolling on the _same_ wall appear to have two different finishes. (They were done at different times, but the same can of paint.) Here again, different times, possible difference in spread rate, possible difference in technique, pressures , applicators, and application. Maybe someone could roll out the wall(s) where this has occured and complete it one time around without doing this at different intrevals.