I just came onto the forum tonight to ask someone the same exact question- only my entire house has been painted with Benjamin moore paint- which is the only paint I would ever use- and it looks TERRIBLE! You can see every single roller swipe and the paint looks extremely uneven. I was blaming the painter (nicely of course) and insisted that I could do the same room without any streaks (we have several very dark colors and I have used many of them in my other house so I 'knew' that I could do it---- ) Well, I have to admit, even though my wall has LESS variation of color than the painters, the wall is still showing streaks. I use Purdy rollers and do not thin the paint down at all... Any ideas?? We have the Ben Moore paint rep coming out to the house since we are talking about a 6000 sq foot home that needs to be repainted before I move into it... and someone has to cover the cost!

There really is not a 'wait time' for painting drywall. As soon as the mud is completely dry, it can be painted. It is true that you can use a flat paint to prime, but this is rarely the best choice. Flat paints do not seal. If you are going with a washable paint for a topcoat, a primer is best. If you are concerned about the Aura, then go with the Regal....two coats of Regal eggshell on top of a Fresh Start primer, Super Spec Flat or Muresco on the ceiling. For the trim, I would sand first to dull the sheen so that the primer has something to stick to, prime with BIN or an acrylic bonding primer followed by two coats of Waterborne Satin Impervo, Aura semi gloss, Pro Classic, C2, Muralo, etc...lots of good trim paint choices out there.

Faron -- I did not know this about paint color, but this is good news, since I put on the wall color over the weekend and I am having one of those "oh, no, it doesn't look like the smaple did" moments. At least, in daylight it is much brighter. In the evening, it looks like what I wanted! I will be patient and give it a good week to "settle down." In the meantime, it all came out pretty good. I used a trick I picked up on this site for cutting in the baseboards (used my taping knife). I experimented with a small foam brush for ceiling cut in--while it went faster than the blue tape, it is a bit uneven and I will need to go back and touch up. I do hate that but possibly this is better than drippy blue tape. Anyhow, thank you for the help.

Thanks guys. I think I'll go with painting it the same as the stairs. I guess that would make sense since it's part of the stairs. It wouldn't be there without it, you know? Yes, I've heard paint doesn't fully cure for a month? Socks would probably be ok after a few days. I'm still trying to think what I can use to block off the top from the cats. They were tearing up and down last night playing. Can you see it? I'm halfway down the stairs painting and one of them decides they're going to come see me. I can't run back up the stairs and shoo them away, ha. Making note to have something there before I start. I'm very excited to work on this. Must . wait. until. friday . night. ... :)