i figured (if anyone but me is interested or might be in the future) that i would do the research on some of the questions that are fact and not technique. so... i found this about alkyd paints: Alkyd paints, when used in the home, are most commonly used for areas having high wear or prone to impact. These include trim, floors and sometimes cabinets. Another benefit to alkyd is it has a longer drying time than latex paint so it does not show brush strokes as much, an advantage when painting trim, woodwork and cabinetry. Some disadvantages of alkyd paint include: It is more expensive than latex paint Odor intensive when drying and gives off VOC's (volatile organic compounds) Requires chemical solvent clean up using mineral spirits (paint thinner) Some local municipalities restrict the use of this paint because of the hazardous materials it creates in the waste stream. as for waterborne: The word "waterborne" pretty much kinda means latex, but is meant to present the coating as a step-up premium type rather than it's cheaper paint cousins (like SuperHide etc.) Waterborne Impervo is really nice if you build up the finish by brushing thin coats. It is thin and watery but when you get there in 2-3 coats its a really nice finish, for a waterborne. as far as muralo goes: www.muralo.com so i guess its the other questions i REALLY need help with! (c: suzanne

No not even close to a genius. Yes it was just a regular spray bottle. I did get the idea if I was to do it again without a Wagner that I was going to try one of those pump air into bottles. Like I said though my paint was very thinned out. Almost to the point of seeing no colour but with repeated coats the colour would show up. I was using black at the time and when it went on it had a gray tinge to it.It took many coats to receive the absolute black I wanted. You might have to thin your paint a little more. A little experimenting maybe till you get just the right consistency. If your bottle starts to get gunked up you could dump the paint into a another container or spray bottle and then pour some spirits or varsol or whatever is needed for cleanup and spray onto cardboard or something. This is what we do when we are using the Wagner so I would imagine it would work as well. Worth a try I would suppose. I also wonder if I had a lot of spraying to do, if a fertilizer sprayer would work. That bottle would be able to hold a LOT of paint and you could pump it up and adjust the sprayer to a very fine mist and just spray away. But for the price of fertilizer sprayer a Wagner would only cost a few dollar more.

Mary, I LOVE that wardrobe!! It will be PERFECT to paint and distress. I am a big DIY-er, and just did this project this past weekend. I lost one of my beautiful Brittany Spaniels unexpectedly last Thursday, and decided that in Joey's honor, I'd do a tribute to him by copying a popular design that I have seen painted on bureaus - the British 'Union Jack' flag. I started out with an unpainted old pine piece. I suspect that yours might be pine, too. I used Annie Sloan chalk paint as the 'white' background on mine, and it's wonderful, but pricey. I painted my piece and then sanded the areas I wanted to appear worn by hand, with a piece of 150 grit sandpaper. If you want natural colored wood to show on some 'worn' areas of yours, you might want to experiment before you paint it black, by seeing if you can sand off some of the white paint that's there from a test area, such as an edge. If you have an electric sander, it'll make the job go easier. You don't need to sand the whole thing unless the current paint has a bit of a gloss finish to it. Try your black paint and see if it'll stick to the current paint. If it doesn't you may need to scuff up or prime the whole wardrobe to get your black paint to stick. Or, use chalk paint (not chalk board paint) as it really does stick well, goes a long way, and dries very fast. I put a link to Annie Sloan's site below. Click on 'American Stockists' on the left to see if there are any in your area. I ordered mine from Sea Rose Cottage in RI. I also waxed mine with both Butcher's wax first and then with BriWax, which I had in light brown and dark brown, to add the aged effect. That really makes a difference, and changes the paint colors slightly. Before - During - Just had the paint on here - After, with sanded edges and waxed - Close-up of the original old porcelain knobs and some sanded and waxed areas. And last, but certainly not least, my beautiful little boy who this is a tribute for, Joey. Here is a link that might be useful: Annie Sloan Chalk paint link

OP, please forgive this OT commentary to answer Julie. You can email me, too, if you click on My Page. Julie, thank you for the compliments. It's taking me so long to finish that no one notices anything I do get done anymore! :o) Anyway, I posted something in the forum below about type of paint. As for painting 'pure white', I wouldn't do bright white, but something on the order of Behr's Swiss Chocolate, which is just a perfect, subtle white that will compliment your granite. I painted cabinets as described on the link below. After drying several days, I then took a small palm hand sander with 220 grit and sanded off the corners, edges, and high profile parts on the doors and other areas of the doors to show wearing away of paint. I then took a small 1" black foam brush and used Minwax stain on all of the exposed newly sanded wood, cleaning off excess stain off the paint and doors in about five minutes. You will have to choose a stain to compliment your granite and wood floors. This can be a messy process, so by a couple of boxes of disposable medical gloves. This is the best, easiest way to keep a messy job 'clean'. Especially if you work in the house like I do. Once stained, let it dry a day. Then I mixed the glaze as I described on the web address in this paragraph, except I painted it around all of the edges of the door profile to accent and define the interior areas. (I mixed up about a pint of glaze at a time.) I wanted a more dramatic look to my doors, so I left a lot more product on my doors that the average pro painter. Use a 2.5" sash brush by Wooster. I love Purdy brushes, but for this job, only the Wooster works the best. I know, I tried them all. http://www.sherichase.com/progress/July2008Update.htm . After the glaze, I also did another technique to the doors using an oak colored stain on the raised, thickest part of the door to give it a more golden, rustic look. I have a similar pattern in my kitchen table, except it has a light grey glaze. I did dry-dragging of a large brush across the front face of the doors with the light oak stain. It's subtle, but gives dimension and character when you're up close. I can take a better photo if you like. Let this dry a day. Then I waxed the doors with clear Briwax. Ut takes about five minutes per door or so. Here's where I made a bit of a 'mistake'. I waxed with light brown, but I think it was a bit too yellow, so I'm removing some of it now. Half of the kitchen is waxed with clear, the other half I'm having to really work to get the wax off without messing up my paint job. So even on my photo above, you can see the uppers have brown wax and lowers have clear wax. It's all subtle. Well, I do have some of the brown wax off the upper in that photo. It's going to take some time and I have a lot to do right now. As always, wet sand BY HAND between every coat of anything you put on your doors: paint, glaze, etc. Just make sure the product has cured before you sand. Wet sanding is the best. I gradually work up to 600 grit. I am still working on my doors now and am not pass 320 grit, I believe. I still have to get off that brown wax. It's not coming off like I think it should with the clear wax. That being said, my kitchen photos show myriads of stages and mistakes. You can see my progress at: www.sherichase.com/progress to see where I started and am today. Email me and I'll give you my ph.# in case you need to call. FYI: Only use a hand palm sander to remove wood and paint. Do not 'wet sand' with any electrice machine. All wet sanding is done by hand. Light pressure with the grain, wetting the door with a fine mist spray bottle then wiping off excess with a microfiber cloth. Hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: Painting cabinets