Some excellent tips here that will surely benefit a lot of people who are reading....that includes me! Thanks so much for all the sharing! I didn't know how to explain the tip I had so I went looking for an example. I am going to explain this from a crafter's point of view. The example in this YouTube Video....at the 1:49 mark, shows what I was trying to explain in my head but didn't come out in type very well. What you'll see at the 1:49 mark is what's called a sharp, Chisel Edge. You get that from a Good Quality Brush Only. Don't cheap out when it comes to cutting in. My personal pref is a Purdy Brush but I've used a couple others in a pinch, with good results. I've tried every tape made, and probably almost every edge painting gadget made but just never could get the hang of a straight line. Until..... Someone told me to make sure I have a good quality, angle brush which will give you that nice sharp chisel edge, making it almost too easy to create a straight line....wall against ceiling, wall against baseboard, etc. I still struggle with medium-textured walls against a heavily textured ceiling but I'm getting a little better because as they say, practice makes almost perfect. *smile* And I cheat and use my #10 Loew-Cornell Flat, White Nylon bristles w/yellow handle brush. Again, that small brush makes a nice chisel edge and I can work that paint right up into each little nook of the wall/ceiling without getting any on the texture of the ceiling (well, almost never). Whether you decide to use a small artist brush to fill in the areas you couldn't get in close to with the large paint brush, or you decide a non-angle brush feels better in your hand, remember the key is to get a brush that makes a nice, crisp chisel edge when the bristles are wet. Also, play around with a few different paint brushes ......straight edge, angle, wide, 1 inch, etc. You'll get the feel of the brush.........at least with me, with my artists' brushes, I like the feeling that my brushes are an extension of my hand. Same with larger paint brushes. Holding the angle brush almost like a pen, before you know it, you'll be able to adjust the straightness of the line just by putting a little presser on the first finger or releasing a little bit. Have fun with this....it's a great learning experience! Most of all, don't get frustrated if things aren't as perfectly straight as you'd like. There are so many ways to 'fix' the hills and valleys and as they say...."it's only paint". *smile* Here is a link that might be useful: Sharp Chisel Edge @ 1:49 - YouTube

Hi Michael, Thanks for the response. I'll sand it down and use the 123. That's what I had at home, but of course the ICI guy had to sell us on his instead of the Zinnser...can I put a bit of Floetrol in the Gripper to make it friendlier so I can use it rather than scrap it entirely? And PHEW about the application technique...A question about the wet-to-dry: I use rollers on the walls and have never had problems with lines or anything...could you please explain wet-to-dry, as in let's say you paint 8" of moulding. Then you put more paint on the brush-do you start where the paint ended or do you start, say, 8" *away* from where the paint ended and work back to the end of the last brush? Just so I can be sure. If I start where the first 8" ended, I get a ridge...thanks in advance. Off to sand.

It is so nice to know someone else is already going through this process. I'm a firm believer in trying to learn from the experiences of others! I've read through the forum quite a bit and your posts, along with Michael's and bayareafrancie have been invaluable in sorting out what I need to do this project and what I can expect. Your method of priming, painting, then priming elsewhere sounds logical. I'm going to follow that advice. I think that way too I can see some of the end result and hopefully not lose steam. I've only used the Dale brush for cutout work (it's great for that) but I might buy a couple of different brushes in different sizes and see which one works best and then buy a few of them. I've read elsewhere that with the Impervo, if you are painting for long enough, the brush can get gummed up and it's nice to have an extra to keep going. I'm going to practice some on shelves in my daughters room first to try and get a feel for how it works. I am painting doors and window trim. The doors I know are going to be a project. I think we might take them down and spray them, (I might even be able to convince my husband to pay someone for that!) but I'm doing them last, regardless. But they are ugly flat panel doors and the finish on them doesn't even match the current stained trim. They may have to wait until after we move. A bunch of the closets have louvered doors (they do match the trim!) too so spraying is really the best way to go. I'm going with white, not cream. I've got to decide on which white in a couple of hours though. I'm buying everything today and hope to start tomorrow. BM White (01) or White Dove is what the Impervo comes in. I'm going to go ask in the decorating forum for opinions. I'm leaning toward White (01) just because it's a "cleaner" white. But then I think White Dove is probably a little more forgiving, not being so stark. Are you doing white or cream? Now that you've done it, do you find that painting the trim really does lighten up a room?

I painted my cabinets with BM Satin Impervo Bittersweet Chocolate. I have builder grade oak cabinets and wanted an espresso stained finish with no brush strokes. I read several tips on this website and would like to share my tips after I have completed the project. a) If your cabinets are refinished with varnish as (most builder grade cabinets are) do NOT prime. BM guy sold me a primer which took forever to sand. Adding a lot of unnecessary work. b) Buy a 1" angled brush for the trim. Make sure it is for oil based paint c) Buy a 2" angled brush for oil based paint. The best you can afford and are willing to pay. I bought a Purdy 2" Ox-O-Angular and a Corona 2" angled brush for the final coat. $20 and $30 respectively. It was worth the money for me. d) Buy 4" foam rollers to apply the paint e) Buy small art brushes for the trim. I painted the backs first and laid out for a week. I then flipped over and painted the fronts. Paint the trim first with the 1" brush. Very light paint. Then use the foam for the rest of the door. Apply a thin coat and then use the 2" brush all over the door very lightly. Let the brushes weight fall on the door and keep as parallel to the surface being painted as much as possible along the grain. Long strokes are always better. Next, remove excess paint on the trim with the art brush. Brush over the trim and remove paint from the brush on a cardboard box every 5-6 inches. Let them dry for a week. After they are dry, sand with a scotch brite in between coats finisher. Lightly. This process should remove excess paint. Use a 220 grit sand paper where paint will not be removed with the scotch brite finisher. Next, use tack cloths to remove dust. Apply the second coat as you did the first coat. Let dry for a week, and apply the second coat to front of the doors. This last coat should be your best finish of all. I used a new brush for the last coat and the training acquired during the first coats and second coat to the back should prepare you to do a great job on this last coat. Think of the first coats as training. Use them to teach yourself the technique that will work for you. I hardly had any brush strokes on the first 18 doors, but my brush began malfunctioning after that. So I had 18 excellent doors and 3 not so good doors. The reason is I did not use a 1" brush for the trim. I used the same 2" angled brush. Problem with this was that I used the brush to get in the crevices of the trim, causing the bristles to bend and over and over again. I believe this damaged the brush toward the end of the project. It's worth another $10 for a 1" brush dedicated to trim. Good luck!