NOTHING will look as good as FPE Hollandlac Brilliant. I've used some of their stuff. (I have a thread on this forum about painting the interior wood trim of our entry-door side-lites. I used their Brushing-Putty, Oil primer, and the ECO-series Brilliant White.) I'm a proud USA fan like anyone. BUT...there's nothing like that stuff here! Trust me...if you prep it right, and use good tools/techniques, you'll be dumbstruck!! Faron

In a "high durability needed" area like that...I can't imagine NOT priming.... * Scuff-sand thouroughly with ~ 100-grit paper. 120 is TOO fine to be of much use here. * Sand until the scratches are minimized to your satisfaction. Get every molecule of dust wiped off. Here's a statement that may surprise a few out there!!! >>> In THIS case...I'd apply THREE coats of the Oil primer, about 2 hrs. apart. >>> Reason?: * You'll be building a lightly sandable layer as a last "polishing-off/filling" opportunity b4 the CC. * If you can, wait until next day for primer-coats to harden-off. The wait makes this last "fine-tuning" sanding go easier. You're gonna lightly sand this primer-sandwich. * Think of sheetrockers doing their last sanding b4 painting. NOW...you've built the ideal base for your CC to show its absolute best. Stir the CC thouroughly, scraping the bottom and sides as ya go, using slow/lifting motions. Preferably, have it machine-shaken. You may have to strain it through nylons, or a disposable paint-strainer. If it doesn't smell "sour", you're golden! Faron PS...DEFINITELY...TWO coats of CC!

Hi Katie, No dumb ?'s here! The smart thing is to ask if you're not sure! On to your painting... Yes, you're obviously correct on good prep & priming!! >>> First off- Apply FULL coats with quality tools. If you've got a $3.99 brush...well...you can probably guess my next sentence! Donate your "under-$10" brushes to a charitable organization! * If you're fussy about the smoothest appearance, you can lightly sand your primer, but it has to dry longer (about 6 hours or more). * If NOT sanding primer...apply 1st coat of your Semi-gloss paint ~ 2-3 hours after priming IF it's a light color. If you're in a cooler climate (October you know!), it gets dicey this time of year! * For 95% of paints/primers out there, AIR & SURFACE temps must be above 50. Below 50, primers/paints can't chemically bond very well; nor can they level-out evenly. Dew is more common in the fall, and takes longer to dry off. * Similarly, primer & paint needs 3-4 hours to dry before temps get below 50 again! Up here in Fargo, ND, you may only have between NOON & 5pm to paint! If you know that it's gonna dip to ~50 at suppertime (6pm), your coat of paint needs to be done @ 2pm. Next coat of paint would have to wait 'till ~ NOON the next day! (In Arizona, all this is a moot point-except for mountain areas!) YES, both coats HAVE to be Semi-gloss on the primer. Main reason: You need TWO layers of your actual paint to stand up to Mother-Nature. New S/G will bond just fine to itself within the "3 hours between coats" regimen. If you have weather-delays after 1st of paint, you THEN have to lightly sand your 1st coat, & remove all dust. Then apply 2nd coat. * Modern, Top-tier paints get too "hardened-off" to bond properly to subsequent coats after a day or 2. * In this case, wait a MONTH for coat 1 to fully harden, then wash, rinse, let dry, & re-sand lightly. Now coat 2 can be applied. The "quick" rule of thumb...3 hours between all coats! (if they're light colors) Faron

You WILL see every nail pop, drywall seam, gouge mark, and roller mark with a gloss paint. There is no way around it, experienced painter or not. It's not a function of the painter, it's a function of the paint, and more importantly the prep work behind the paint. A surface has to be 100% flat, and it helps if it's sprayed. You can do a short nap roller with Floetrol added to the paint, but that doesn't work as well on a ceiling as it does a vertical surface. Gravity just works against you with the paint "settling out". Over time, ceilings usually also develop a very slight droop between the joists where they are fastened. That slight droop isn't that noticeable when the surface is non reflective, but just increase it's reflectivity and you'll spot it immediately. It's exceedingly rare to have a ceiling so flat and smooth that you won't notice all of these issues when painted in even a semi gloss finish. And if your ceiling isn't perfect, getting it that way will cost a lot of extra time or money. It may not even be possible at all in some cases.