I have also gotten conflicting advice, similar to what you have heard. I'm no expert, but I'll tell you what I ended up doing which seemed to work out pretty well, at least so far. We bought a ~100 year old home six months ago that we're just getting around to painting now, after rewiring. Most of the trim is painted with what seems to be a high gloss oil-based paint, and a much of it (especially doors and baseboards) is quite dirty. The only trim I've painted over so far is a few doors, but I'll be starting on the rest of the trim in a couple weeks. For the doors, I scraped off just whatever bits were already flaking off, then washed them really well, and then used "liquid sandpaper". If your trim is glossy you may want to use liquid sandpaper to remove the gloss. It's not a paint stripper, so you won't be left with messy globs of dissolved paint. It just removes some of the sheen so that the new layers bond to it better. Then I primed with an oil-based primer. I have used both latex and oil primers in a previous home, and the oil primers always seem to bond better. Then painted with Regal Select Semi Gloss. I haven't tried Natura, but I might... Anyway, I would recommend liquid sandpaper rather than sanding as long as the old paint is basically well-bonded to the trim, then oil-based primer, than latex paint. I'm curious what suggestions other people have..

Here are the directions. I wish you could see the pictures of how this looks, but they sent me a color copy, not a link. Since your patio is green, you would probably have to paint it some sort of cement type color to form the 'grout lines' before rolling on the bricks. If you have patience and a steady hand, this is a great cheap fix. Let me know if you do this and how it turns out. Or, if you have any questions. from Cottage Living: for painting old concrete to look like brick. This is the technique I used on my patio that I got from Cottage Living Magazine. They sent me a reprint, since I misplaced the article. I only wish I could post the photos from the article so you could see what she is doing. But here are the written instructions. Let me know if you need any help. You can do it Go Faux it. The plain paving around the 1930's cottage did little to enhance its charm, but tearing out the concrete and laying a brick walkway would have cost thousands. Instead, Claudia mixed a batch of brick colored paint and rolled it right onto the concrete. Initially, she tried stenciling the bricks, but when it looked 'too neat and perfect', she decided to do the job by hand. After painting a 100 foot long path in an afternoon, she was so pleased with the results that she went onto brick her entire driveway. Details: Paint a brick walkway:Gather the goods: 4 inch paint roller, paint tray, custom blended paint 1) Claudia Darr used 1 gallon of Benjamin Moore's MoorGard Low Lustre Latex House Paint (#103-4B) in the following forumla (the paint dealer will know what this means):OY 1x8, RX 5x, BK 1x22, MA 3x, WH1x16, TG 18 2) Clean the area you plan to paint, and let it dry thoroughly 3) Beginning in a corner, use a 4 inch roller to paing " bricks". Make each one about 7 inches long, leaving about 3/4 inch between each brick (to simulate grout line). Stagger adjoining rows so bricks form a wall pattern. Good luck with this and let us know how it turns out. Some tips from me: sweep the area well before you do this. The 4 inch roller is a skinny little roller that I found in the Benjamin more paint store. It came with a roller stick. I attached one of those wooden poles that screwed into the handle of the roller handle. It is the type you would use when you would paint your ceiling. Trust me, you do not want to bend over with the roller for an entire day painting the ground! Experiment on some old newspaper first to get your technique down. And, I first went around the entire outside of the patio laying the 'bricks' out along the edge in the opposite direction that I ran the rest of the bricks in. It makes for a nicer look.

I hate my wood floor in the kitchen. Granted, it probably wasn't very nice oak to begin with *and* it's also right off the patio so there's a lot of dirty boots. But there were still some mighty big worn patches when we moved in, and here we are ten years after having them refinished and they look horrible. They're worn through in the same high traffic areas, not to mention all the scratches and gouges my kids put in the floor dragging the bar stools (and various other things) around. It's my kitchen, though - constantly used, wet, busy, and the only way to get into the back yard. The wood in the hall is still fine, so I know it's just the level of usage and abuse. Personally, I'm planning on tile for the kitchen/family room remodel. Since I live in Seattle, we're planning on old school electric radiant heat for at least some portion of it. And as my kids (and their cousins) have had stomach flu the last few weeks, I can't wait to have floors I can thoroughly scrub and bleach. ;-) Good luck!

IF the original layer was shellac (is it?l) it and the paint layer over it comes off very easily with a heat gun - melts off like butter. then, use the alcohol and steel wool to remove residue. btw thats how y ou can tell its shellac - dissolves in alcohol. If you have a whole house full of woodwork its worth investing in a good heat gun with adjustable heat level - or infra red stripper (i havent tried those). Lead paint chips can be dealt with safely, use n100 mask.