Colour My World #3

The lesson here folks, is don't experiment. I am referring to the roller coaster ride I have had while painting the upstairs. Choosing paint is not like picking up a new type of hairspray - where you try something out because it has a cool container or a neat dispenser. Paint, is a product which, once you have found what works for you, you must never, never (never), change it up.

Painting a regular-sized room (about 10X12) usually takes me about two hours per coat. The upstairs at "The Pokeaway" has three rooms, and a hall way. So far I have spent about 20 hours painting the rooms. And I am far from done. I have painted at the same pace. But it has taken me much longer than I anticpated. The problem has been the paint.

My first mistake was going to a big-box store and asking for advice. I have nothing against college students who are trying to get themselves through school, but their advice is definitely not knowledge-based. And they don't work every Saturday. So even the consistency of correct advice is thin. The second mistake was to take their advice and try out a type of paint that had primer and colour in it, thinking this would save me work. WRONG. The paint colour chosen was a very dark colour. It took me two rooms to realize that because it was so dark, I should have used a coloured primer to start so that the paint would grab the walls, once applied.

One of the bedrooms has four coats of paint on it and it still doesn't look as it should. It got to the point that my son and I decided that he would have to hang a big few big posters to avoid having to look at the places on the walls where the roller marks showed through.

My third mistake was thinking I was going to save some money by going with the "Thanks for shopping Canadian" store. Sure, their paint was initially less expensive, but the end product was disappointing, and eventually sent me with my tail between my legs, to the paint store with the product that I love. So I bought the cheap paint AND the expensive paint and spent way more money in the end.

I have learned my lesson. And this is your heads up. If you come to look at the paint job at "The Pokeaway", make an appointment. If you come to see me, then come on in.