Thank you very much, Chris and funcolors, especially Chris for your very detailed information. I'll go for BM kitchen and bath satin finish paint. It claims to be self priming on most surfaces. So after sanding to lightly remove the sheen, can I apply the BM paint directly for two coats and skip priming? I interviewed another GC for my bathroom remodel, he also said one coat was enough. They just don't want to take more time to do a better job. I'll offer $100 more for one more coat. If the GC still insisted on one coat only, I would hire a painter later or do it myself. Thank you very much.

We did veneer plaster for a couple of reasons. In our regional area, no one does it. We had to go to a specialty supplier and order it in. We found someone who trained in Maine to install it and the only reason it was a bit more expensive than drywall is because our original framing was uneven and we ordered 5/8" thick sheets. I had a pretty strong aversion to drywall after the adventures with mold. Veener plaster is freakin' gorgeous, perfectly smooth and we would do it again in a heartbeat. The feel of it perfectly matches the rest of the house - which is all 1920's plaster. Here, people call the supposedly water resistant drywall "blueboard", so I was surprised by what it looked like (gray, gray and more gray) and that it was made up of two slightly different layers and that it is much harder and denser than drywall. It works pretty well as a sound deadener too! @casey Wow, that is really nice!

No, you are confused. But this is not your fault. It is the fault of the industry. There is a difference between dead flat and washable flat. If you are interested in using a dead flat paint, one that has no washability, then they are all pretty much the same and sometimes it is better to use a cheaper version. Cheap flat paints are filled with cheap ingredients like chalk and clay, It is these cheap ingredients that make the dried paint film look good in critical light (no flashing, roller lines, etc) and also helps to make the paint easier to touch up. However, because of the cheap ingredients, the paint film has no integrity at all, which means if you touch it or bump into it, there will be a dead spot or a dull spot. This is why we like to use it on ceilings. It looks great and nobody will touch a ceiling. A washable flat is a different animal entirely. It's not a flat paint at all, but the manufacturers will call it a flat anyway because they are stupid. A washable flat should be treated like an eggshell or a semi gloss or any paint that forms a protective skin on top of the paint film (enamel). The best system for these types of washable paints is a quality primer followed by 2 topcoats. The problem is that it can be hard to tell when you are shopping for paint which paints are dead flats and which paints are washable flats. It's even more confusing when manufacturers of dead flat paints are putting the word 'washable' or 'cleanable' or 'scrubbable' on their cans of dead flat paints! So, if you come on a forum asking for advice about flat paint, we assume you are talking about dead flat. If you want advice about washable flat paint, then you should have specified.

@wiscokid I had that thought as well... Of course there was added confusion because he usually does Sherwin Williams but I wanted a specific Benjamin Moore white and asked him to get it at BM rather than matching it in SW. @jellytoast This is the one guy I let my husband handle on his own, and apparently there was a lot of verbal agreement because the paperwork is completely insufficient. He has also been doing a lot of dry wall and texture repair for us as well, which complicates scope of work even more when the two of them start riffing on things in person. I know I know... Believe me, it has been a point of contention several times and will never happen again, but it is unfortunate that it is too late with the painter. I do have very specific quotes and agreements with every other contractor, and almost all of them have had me go pick out and pay for the materials myself so I get exactly what I want. Certainly wish I had done the same thing on paint. @sofaspud The trim is already an issue because I originally went a long with my husband when he said he wanted semi-gloss trim. Then I started doing more of my own paint research and realized I wanted satin instead. Well, apparently the one and only thing this painter did on time was buy the paint, and he'd already purchased semi-gloss. I think it will be about $200-250 if I want to change at this point, and I'm very tempted to do that. He did say he could add a certain type of lacquer to dull the sheen a bit, so he did one room that way for us today and then I'll decide if that's OK or not tonight. As I'm typing that out, I realize it will make touchups difficult and honestly sounds like a bad idea compared to spending another $250...