Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with paint

"Old Reliable" by Sherwin Williams

A Terrible Llama — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:10:47 -0800

Can someone recommend a specific pleasant white-ish or neutral shade of paint that I can use on my walls repeatedly for like, forever? I'm looking for a basic white/neutral shade that I can paint various rooms and hallways that are not otherwise an actual color. We have only painted a few rooms selected colors, and for the rest, I think I'd like to go with "white".

I'm hoping I can find something like 'Sherman Williams - Linen' (I made that up; also it doesn't actually have to be Sherman Williams) that will be around for years to come so that five years from now, I can decide to paint a room the exact same white (it doesn't have to be 100% the same -- 90% the same is good enough.)

I'd like a white that's a little on the warmer side, maybe a bit more cream-colored. Parts of the house are extremely bright and if it's too white-white it'll be like having a near-death experience in an Apple store.

The company located next to my house won't stop spraying paint fumes.

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:02:45 -0800

The company located next my house sprays noxious paint fumes into the air and my yard. Despite years of trying to get them to stop, they haven't. What are the next steps to take? My significant other and I have been renting a house for several years that we love. It's wonderful. The rent is cheap, the place is beautiful, and we don't want to move. However, there is one big thing that sucks, and that is our neighbor. Our house is next to an industrial-zoned area, and one of our closest neighbors (a couple lots away) is a company that creates industrial metal products (don't want to get too specific in case we pursue legal action.) Every day, including on the weekends, they spray paint outdoors. You can hear the paint sprayers, but the issue is the constant presence of paint fumes. We can't use our yard because it stinks like paint. We can't open the windows in our home on the side that faces their building. We are afraid to plant food in our garden. We're worried about our health.

We looked up our city's zoning code, and it clearly states in several places that a company in an industrial zone like theirs cannot create fumes or any sort of health hazard that affects nearby residents. A few years ago, we had the city investigate, and they found that the company was violating city code in many ways. However, since then, every time I ask the city for an update, there is always some song and dance about how they are "working on it" and I don't get much more than that. In the meantime, the paint spraying continues.

We tried to be neighborly and approached the company, but we didn't get much more than a shrug and a "sorry, it's our business" type of response. I also called the county last year and had them come out to do an air inspection. They inspected and their response was that the company was technically under the legal level of air toxins/emissions/whatever, but the inspector also leveled with me and was like yeah, it's probably not good to be breathing that in. I also approached our landlord (who lives out of town), and while he was kind of like "yeah, that's bad", he's pretty hands-off and I'm not sure I can get him to get gung-ho on this issue.

I'm so frustrated. We're not in a situation right now where we want to move - it would be a huge pain in the butt and an unneeded financial hit. As I said, everything else about the house is amazing. What would you do in my situation? Should we hire a lawyer? Or should we just suck it up and get an air filter and never open our windows again?

Are there alternatives to Coolwall Paint? How much are we talking (in L?

rybreadmed — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 16:12:58 -0800

I had someone through Costco come out to our house to give a quote on painting the house with Coolwall paint. It wasn't a quote just for the paint, but for all the prep work, repairs in our stucco, and the trim. We don't live in a large house--it's less than 1,400 square feet. He extolled the benefits of this paint. It's highly reflective and thus reduces damage to the paint, and also keeps the house cooler in the summer. The way the guy went on about it, it's a miracle product. He quoted $18,600 to prep and paint our house with this stuff. Again, it's through Costco and has a lifetime warranty. And they don't strip off the existing paint or stucco--they repair it, bond it, and paint right over it. Are there similar alternatives that would cost much less? Costco stuff is good, and I trust it. But $18,600? I want what he's smoking. But one of the things that made it attractive versus regular house-painting was that they wouldn't remove the old paint--which he claims costs about $1,000 for lead abatement.

So I ask you--are there reflective, high quality alternatives? Can we get the house painted without removing the old stuff (ie. bonding and painting over it)?

How much for a really nice professionally-applied paint job?

Removing paint/ink logotypes from bare aluminum w/o damaging the finish?

jjjjjjjijjjjjjj — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:47:07 -0800

Paint Removal/Solvent Experts: Looking for solvents/methods for removing paint (ink?) logos from semi-glossy aluminum bicycle parts, without damaging or changing the finish. Detailed pics inside. Looking to "murder out" my components (as the kids are calling it) and remove the screened-on paint (ink?) logos.

Here's what we're working with in a nutshell; A bunch of slightly different finishes/textures on bare(?) aluminum:

crankset — [ detail ] — (material: unnamed aluminum alloy, anodized)

seatpost — [ detail ] — (material: unnamed aluminum alloy)

stem — [ detail ] — (material: 2014 Aluminum)

[ all images ]

I'm looking for a solvent/method that will gently remove these paints (inks?) from the surface without changing the appearance of the underlying or surrounding metal.

I own a Dremel tool and have a big-box hardware store a mile away.

Not so much looking for conjecture or speculation -- this crankset would make for an expensive experiment -- looking for expertise in solvents or people who have performed this or something similar. Which approach(es) have you used that has given good results? Many thanks for your time and your expertise.

Not Barbie, BHARATI. Or maybe Bluebi if I feel like it

discopolo — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:47:40 -0800

I want to change my Barbie doll's skin tone and paint her face to give her different eyes. How? I was given a Barbie recently as a very sweet joke, and I made her a more modest outfit and tied her hair back elegantly. She sits on my desk looking glamorous. I want to change her skin tone and paint her face.

What kind of paint do I use so it soaks in and doesn't peel off? How can I go about doing this? What will I need?

Help me dip all my spoons, the non-toxic way.

OlivesAndTurkishCoffee — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 17:34:12 -0800

Trying to find a permanent, food-safe way to mark all my cutlery and cooking utensils (that won't wear off after repeated washes). Trying to prevent losing more measuring cups and spoons in my cooking class.

My idea is to find a food safe paint and just dip the ends of everything in the paint, making it easy to tell that they are mine.

Other people will be using the cookware, so it needs to be food -safe by the strictest possible standards. don't want to poison anyone...!

I have found few ostensibly food safe spray-paints elsewhere on the Internet, but hoping someone here may know of a reliable one or perhaps knows a trick from culinary school.

I don't care about the colour, and it doesn't have to be paint necessarily. Just a permanent, food-safe way of marking cutlery... Could just be a gel dot or something small...

Paint my kitchen!

1066 — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 10:20:46 -0800

Not literally. But I'm stuck on picking a color. Special snowflake details inside. (Possible triggers for mental health issues) Hello beautiful people of AskMefi. Thank you in advance for you help.

TL;DR BACKGROUND:
Due to a very contentious divorce, a beloved relative with a home business and large pets needed a place to live/work with no notice. I moved in with my parents, and let relative have my home for a year. (Not really a hardship, parents and I get along well. And they were very grateful that I was in a position to help.)

My relative fell into a major depression, culminating in a week of involuntary in-patient treatment, and my home turned into a place that could have starred on "Hoarders".

I had to throw out ninety percent of everything in my home and scrub it down ceiling to floor. I had to buy a new fridge and tear out all the kitchen cabinets. This was traumatic for me. I was redoing it step by step and only when I could afford to pay cash for it.

But it's all been worth it because the relative is doing very well now, is very appreciative of the help I gave and has been helping me fix my home back up.

So, the reason for my question. We've installed a new kitchen and I seem to be having a mental block about picking a paint color and backsplash for it. I'm usually pretty decisive, but cannot seem even narrow down ideas. Also budget is limited as I was still paying mortgage/bills for that year and relative's business has (understandably) not brought in recently what it has in past years. The total for paint and backsplash will hopefully be under $1000.

On to the kitchen:
My kitchen is a galley with a tall 34" wide window at one end and a door to a laundry closet at the end. It is just off the entry and has a pass-through to the dining/living over the stainless sink.
(Dining/living is painted a deep, deep gray with large white baseboards and maple laminate floors.)

The kitchen appliances are black.

The ceiling light looks like an old school light. This, but light gray:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/95963793/ceiling-light-fixture-industrial-metal

The floor is a black faux-marble tile.
http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/591657167/natural_black_marble_tile.html

The base cabinets are Ikea Nexxus brown black with white Ikea counter top and stainless sink. (10th from top)

http://www.ikeakitcheninstalation.com/ikeakitchenpictures.asp

The top cabinets are the Ikea horizontal uppers with frosted glass fronts, also in the Nexxus brown black.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgsearls/223296806

The living room is dark for movie watching. I like things to look neutral, with minimal visual distractions, but not cold. I usually reserve colors for things that can be thrifty to change out, dishes, towels, etc.

Ideas?

Paint it white.

no bueno — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 11:03:52 -0800

Advice on painting a room white from top to bottom. We just bought a home and the downstairs living room is pink. Walls ceilings and trim are all pink and there are purplish/pink vinyl tiles on the floor. We blew most of our money on the upstairs so we don't have money to put in a new floor downstairs so we want to paint the whole thing white. Advice on floor painting? I was thinking of putting down an exterior paint on the floors to make sure it'll stick to the vinyl (after lightly sanding and washing) then covering it with a water based polyurethane to protect it. I've seen other products like armorpoxy but not sure they'll be cheaper or are necessary. I'm assuming we should start at the top and work our way down with the painting process. Sound reasonable? Suggestions? Mistakes to avoid? Stories from people who've done this?

Siding/Paint Question

Run.Faster — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 09:56:14 -0800

Thoughts on Rhino Shield/other "permanent" paint options for home exterior? My wife and I own a 19 year-old, 3800 sq. ft. home with wood (I believe cedar, but am not certain) siding. We purchased the house 3 and a half years ago and were told that the previous owner painted the exterior just before putting the house on the market. The paint job is fading/discoloring pretty badly and we are now looking at our options regarding painting and/or new siding. The thought of a "regular" paint job, which would have to be redone again in 5 years or, does not seem worth the price (guessing it will be somewhere in the ballpark of $10,000) or the aggravation of repeating this job so often.

I have done some very premilinary research into Rhino Shield and other ceramic based long-term paint systems. The idea of not having to have the house repainted for 20-25 years (as the product advertises) is quite appealing. Of course, the price would be considerably higher, but before I weigh the price, I was wondering if anyone had experience with this or similar products? I read a couple of reviews that mentioned moisture might be a problem (the thicker coating does not allow the house to "breathe" properly), but have not read much beyond that. Does anyone have any first hand experience? Thoughts on other siding alternatives are also appreciated.

How can I protect a new door from the sun?

pearlybob — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 10:18:53 -0800

Help me decide how to finish our new front door.... Happy New Year! We live in a house that was built in 1928 that has the original front door. It is very warped, has been repaired numerous times over the years and the door jam has been patched with everything from cardboard to bondo. We have a very competent craftsman who is going to rebuild the jam and make a new door after the first of the year but the question is how to finish it. I want to leave it natural and apply a medium dark stain and varnish but the door gets full day sun. We are in Ga, the sun gets hot and it really is full exposure from dusk till dawn. In August, you can't even touch the outside without getting burned. The craftsman thinks we need to paint it a light color in order to protect the new door but another contractor friend said that there are new varnishes that can withstand the full GA sun and heat. Does anyone have any experience with this? Any advice? I'm not completely adverse to painting but I want to know all my options first. And I want to protect the investment we are making with this new door, it's not cheap. TIA....

Repainting metal cabinets

DeltaForce — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 13:39:26 -0800

How to paint vintage metal kitchen cabinets? I want to paint some vintage metal cabinets. They have been painted before and are currently a matte white that does not feel very smooth or look good.

I bought some gloss latex enamel paint by Valspar. I can't spend a lot of money and am concerned about the finish and am confused about priming. Should I sand? Prime?

Thank you.

Wrap damage...

Flood — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 12:29:06 -0800

Car Wrap Filter: Do car wraps damage the paint underneath the wrap? I am thinking about getting a car wrapped. The wrap will be to advertise my business. However, I really do not want to damage the original paint on this car.

Does wrapping a car damage the paint? How much damage? Does it make a difference how long the wrap stays on the car?

Help me paint or stain this table.

Mister Fabulous — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 13:06:47 -0800

I'm about to purchase a cheap dining room set at IKEA that is unstained solid pine that I am planning on either staining or painting. What colors might fit, and what kind of stain or paint should I use? I confess, I don't know what I'm doing. My apartment was built in 1971 and looks like it's fresh out of... 1971. The walls are all white or cream. The trim, doors and cabinets are all mostly dark brown/walnut color. Most of my furniture is a shade of brown between tan and black. The carpets are brown. I'm trying like hell to break up the brown color and get some contrast going. So far I've added some non-brown artwork, and the ugly orange lamp.

Pictures of my place to give an idea of the colors I'm working with: 1 2 3 4

Currently, I'm considering a dining room table and chairs. It's the last big piece of furniture I plan on adding. I am probably going to purchase the INGO/IVAR set for my apartment due to its relative low price, and because it looks to be something I can adjust to fit my apartment. What color(s) should I go with without clashing too much? I'd really like something to help break up the brown colors everywhere. Also, what do I need to do something like this besides stain and a brush? Do I need to put some sort of varnish or lacquer on this over the top to protect it? Do I stain first then assemble, or assemble first then stain? I have little experience in painting or staining or any of this for that matter. Thank you!

Patching paint

dry white toast — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 07:57:38 -0800

Emergency repair advice needed [Asking for a friend] Difficulty level: illegal sublet and probably not legal security deposit I'm about to move out of a summer sublet, and in putting up pictures when I moved in, I used Sticky Tack to mount them. A poor choice, but moving past that...

Result: The wall itself is intact, but there are 6 silver dollar sized (and shaped) patches where the paint is completely gone. I'm moving out at the end of the week and I'd like to try to repair it myself as best I can. The wall is a grey/white color.

Other factors: I'm subletting from a woman in a building that doesn't allow subletting. I also put down a security deposit of $500, which I realize probably isn't legal in this jurisdiction, but neither of those things are the issue. Also, I don't particularly like my landlady and would prefer not to involve her if I don't have to.

Right now, it seems like my options are:
1) Ask my landlady if she has any extra paint of the color that was used on the wall that I can use to patch it (I've already checked the apartment for paint, but found nothing)
2) Eat the security deposit so the landlady can repaint

Are there any DIY options that wouldn't require involving my landlady? And don't worry, I've already learned a few lessons here, so we don't need to dwell on those.

Where to get powdered paint from?

Cogentesque — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 03:55:30 -0800

Where do I get powdered paint from similar to Holi, the Indian Festival of Colour? I am going Larping next weekend and I need to get some powdered paint to throw around. I'm hoping for a stage-like effect very similar to Holi, the Indian Colour Festival.

What would be best to use? Last year I used powdered chalk dust - which was not great. Are there any toxic powdered paints? Where would I buy them from?

What paint can I use on my textured desktop?

giraffe — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 08:47:09 -0800

My Ikea Dave desk is showing its age. The desktop is made of fiberboard with "epoxy/polyester powder coating;" it's textured. What sort of paint can I use? I'm looking for something that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth and doesn't get sticky/tacky when it's hot. Non-paint suggestions are welcome too.

The feasibility of painting on fabric or vinyl.

cloeburner — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 07:11:37 -0800

I've been commissioned to paint a mural on some sort of material that will be 20'x20' and will be displayed outdoors. What material would be most receptive to paint, flexible and long-lasting? Is it possible to paint on vinyl or canvas and fold it up without any cracking of the paint? Is there a paint that adheres to vinyl? Any suggestions or experience would be most appreciated.

Is there paint-safe colorful wall tape?

R a c h e l — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 10:07:40 -0800

What types of tape could I use for colorful wall-safe alternatives to painter's tape? I usually hang things with painter's tape (dorm rooms, so everything is very temporary). Official literature says painter's tape is all we're allowed to use. I found this look inspiring, though, and I'd like to something similar on my wall (or, worst case scenario, the front of some wooden furniture) - but I don't know what is paint-safe. Painter's tape is a type of masking tape - can I use other colored masking tapes safely? Is non-blue painter's tape available? Ideally, it would be neon, but I'll settle for colorful.

How much green is too much green?

A Terrible Llama — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 06:30:11 -0800

Would it be weird if I painted three out of five upstairs rooms the same soft green color, if they were given different treatments? The green in question is a light, soft green. The rooms and the treatments would be:

A kid's bedroom with green walls, and layers of orange and yellow and turquoise through bedding and furniture (it probably sounds horrible, but she's four, and I think we'd wind up with a fun court-jesterish look.)

A small bathroom with light green walls, dark brown shower curtain and towels, a few small plants with dark green leaves (like a few snake plants or something.)

A guest bedroom with light green walls with purple accents, like a quilt, curtains, whatever. Probably some white.

The other two rooms are going to be offices but don't have any decor or plan to them other than that.

This is just coincidence -- I'm actually not intentionally aiming to use gallons and gallons of this green, but it wouldn't be an inconvenient thing, either.

So would this look lazy? Weird? Or would it even be noticeable to anyone else? Am I over-thinking this or under-thinking it?

Low cost paint job or Vehicle Wrap?

Debaser626 — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 13:25:38 -0800

Should I spend 2-3 thousand on a "premier" Maaco job, try my luck at a mom and pop (WPB, FL area if you have any recommendations), or go for a vehicle wrap? Any MeFites with experience with either? I have a 1957 Chevy Bel Air, I just sank a ton of money into the mechanics, so it's running pretty sweet. Unfortunately, I had NO idea how much it would cost to do the paint work on this when I bought it. I've received a few quotes in the $10,000-$12,000 range. There's not too much rust on the chrome, and no visible rust/damage to the body panels or undercarriage, but the 10-12k range are the restoring quotes I received.

It is highly doubtful I will ever possess this much money to spend on a paint/chrome restoration job for a car. Even without the chrome restoration work, the quotes I received are in the $6-$7k range for paint alone.

Now for the horrific part.... I unfortunately lost my mind a week or two after getting the quotes, and I tried to blend some discolored areas on the car with touch up auto spray paint. Of course, this didn't go too well, and then... I tried to "fix" the areas I initially sprayed by painting blue flames on the car and... well... ahem, I'm sure you can imagine the rest.

So now... I'm left with a partially self-painted car, and I desperately want to undo my dumbass mistake. I don't plan on selling this car for the foreseeable future, so I would like something I can look cool in for at least 4-5 years and revisit the actual paint job a few years from now. I just don't know if I should go with a vehicle wrap or a 2-3 thousand dollar paint job. I'm in the West Palm Beach, FL Area. Any advice?

paint chip paralysis

elizeh — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:59:18 -0800

Our new house has awful walls, so we're getting it painted. Help me identify best practices and rules of thumb for choosing interior paint colors. So, I know this much: Eggshell for the walls, gloss for the trim and cabinets. Same trim color throughout the house, if possible.

What about the kitchen? Should those walls be eggshell too, or glossy (and therefore easier to clean)?

I'm doing white trim throughout the house. If I want white walls, should it be the same white as the trim, or just a smidge off? Or a lot off? I'm trying to get away from the generic beige-wall/white-trim look.

Is there anything else I should think about? Please feel free to recommend design resources....

If it matters, it's a 60's ranch and our style leans towards the sort of casual/organic/modern. (We don't have an Ikea where we live, but we like a lot of the designs we see in the catalogue.)

Help! Brand new ikea furniture gives me a stuffy nose

3mendo — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:25:21 -0800

Bought ikea furniture for a bedroom.. big mistake. The smell of paint is so strong that if i sleep with the windows closed i wake up with a stuffy nose. Is there any remedy?

Removall or other eco-friendly paint removers for retail in Twin Citites?

longtime_lurker — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:27:16 -0800

Looking for a lead on Removall 220 available for retail in the Twin Cities area, or recommendations of equivalent (brushable, eco-friendly) paint strippers. Stripping by hand or with a sander has turned out to be dauntingly slow; we'd probably stick with it anyway, but my spouse is increasingly concerned about the hazard from lead dust. Removall sounds worth trying based on a recommendation on This Old House, but is turning out to be hard to track down. Thanks in advance for any info!

The most beautiful blue of blues

xicana63 — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 11:44:25 -0800

Yves Klein blue paint dupe? Hi there! I'm in love with Yves Klein blue (International Klein Blue) and I know that I can get the pigments for the color through ktColors, but I want paint in this color, not pigments. I would like to paint a desk this color and live in the States (Midwest) so it would be nice if you could recommend paint shops I can actually find here.

So can anyone recommend where to find paint in this color? Or a mixture of paints that make this color?

And while we are at it.. how about clothes dye in this color? (oo can you imagine the possibilities?!)

Is lead in reclaimed wood a concern?

allisonrae — Wed, 30 May 2012 12:05:11 -0800

Husband bought large paintings made with reclaimed barn wood. I swabbed them and they tested positive for lead. We have a new-ish baby. How big of a deal is this? I'll start by saying that the last couple years I got really caught up following stories about flame retardants, BPA, etc. Pregnancy really exacerbated it. This year I've been actively working at chilling out and realizing that some things are just out of my control. I feel that I've been somewhat successful, and being too busy with a baby to spend time online reading one alarmist story after another has really helped. I'm sure I was driving my husband crazy and I'm happier for it too.

That said, I did give in to a suspicion the other day. I used a lead test swab to check the painting in the living room that's made of reclaimed barn wood. About 10% of the piece contains old wood strips with varying degrees of old white paint. It is degraded paint, to the degree that running a fingernail over it would scrape some off, but it is not actively flaking off on its own. I got conclusive red positives. And now I can't stop thinking about it.

When I brought up the possibility of lead content in these paintings a couple months ago, my husband got very upset and asked rhetorically if I had ever played near a barn as a kid. We both grew up with plenty of time in rural areas, so of course I had. I also think about how much less cautious everyone was when we were kids in the 70s/80s – the whole "well, we turned out fine!" thing. We also live in an old (1906) house. But my instinct is that having a known source of lead paint in the living room, next to the kitchen bar, in a house filled with kids, is a Really Bad Thing.

Can anyone help me separate the alarmism from the reality? As long as we keep the kids away from the paintings will it be fine? Or do we need to do something about this, like yesterday? Thanks!