I have a pretty canvas chair that has a few water spots on it and I would like to try to paint it. What kind of paint would I use and how would I apply it? (brush or spray) The chair is a modern full indoor livingroom piece. Any help,links, product ideas would really help! Tonya

Don't put chemical stripper on those walls as mentioned at your blog! It will tear them to pieces!! I love spackle but that won't work for you, looks like the areas are too big. You'll need joint compound. You can get it pre-mixed. Were it me, I'd gently take a very thin flat metal putty knife, a 1" wide blade and maybe a 2" or 3" (depending on the size of the area), slide it under the peeling paint, hold the handle at about a 45 degree angle from the wall underneath and slide it under loose paint to lift it off, moving in a gentle forward motion. Use light pressure, don't saw back and forth. Just keep putting the putty knife under the paint and sliding it under the loose paint and nudging it forward, toward a stable section of paint. Be careful you don't gouge the wall worse! Do this till all chipping/peeling paint comes off and stable paint clings. If sublayers of paint are old, wear a good mask, you might be dealing with lead based paint. (You might want to google LBP for more info, just to be safe.) Once all loose, chippy paint is off, use sandpaper to remove any loose chippy border edges of the old paint. Wrap it around a sanding block and use that so you get a good, flat result. Doing it by holding the paper in your hand won't get you a really level finish, as uneven pressure from your hand can cause uneven ridges on the wall. Smooth the edges so you get a smooth feathered (no definite ridge) transition from the old paint to the surface below. Probably start with 180 grit and repeat, moving up to 200. Wouldn't recommend going below 150 grit, it could tear up the wall worse. Joint compound is tricky stuff. I don't like working with it. It takes me forever (I go slow and use multiple thin layers.) I am a neurotic perfectionist and I have tremendous envy of people who can slap the stuff on, smooth it out and barely have any sanding in just a few swift motions ;) You apply it with a drywall knife (blades from small to wide, as wide as 12" +, depending on surface area). Smooth it out as best you can with the knife. It's something you have to get a feel for working with. Don't glob it on, let each layer dry thoroughly (it will be chalky white, I let it set at minimum a overnight). Sand smooth with 180-220 grit and repeat in layers till you get a flush surface to work with. Small spots you can use spackle. That I can do quickly. Just apply a dab with a small (1" - 2") putty knife with a good beveled edge, keep it clean. In as swift a movement as possible once the dab is on there you scrape it flush. Start on good wall so knife is resting on flush surface, hold the blade steady and slide it right across the spackle and don't stop till you've reached and gone beyond good wall on the other side of the bad spot. You'll need to prime, I like Zinnsser Bullseye 123, but you might want oil-based. It depends on what's causing all that chipping and peeling. That is the top priority, correcting that, because it could happen again. Is this a bathroom, with too much humidity? Moisture from the attic above? Any idea what caused that? Hopefully one of the guys will see this, they can probably explain better than I.

What you have described is exactly why most painters don't even mess around with pre-painting the painted trim. After nail holes are filled and joints are caulked, it all needs to be painted anyway, so we just wait until it is all installed. As for the spraying, yes it is messy. The overspray hits the air and turns into a fine powder that goes everywhere. As for painting without brushmarks and roller stipple, this can be difficult to achieve for a non-pro because you need to work very fast with todays fast drying paints. Even for pros, it is hard. Todays paints are a challenge. I haven't really found a Sherwin Williams product that flattens out nicely which is why I use Benjamin Moore for trim painting. I use a 4" Wooster Pro-Dooz roller cover usually 3/8" nap. The trick is to get the paint on quick with the roller then brush it out quickly or you can just use the roller and leave it. Depends on what you are painting really and how fast you can go.

I usually have two or three blades so I use one to clean another which gets most of the goo off. My collection usually is a wallpaper scraper, a 4 or 6 inch joint knife, and a one inch super flexible putty knife. Then I wash off the blade in the bucket I use for rinsing the rags. Washing the walls requires changing out the water regularly. I am usually the person who gets bored first so typically I go get the clean water while my partner works on the wall. Depending on the container you use, you may be able to run a wire across the top of your container to clean your blade against.  This task is one that can benefit from some combination of company, loud music and alcoholic beverages.