We are renovating our new home and I have a few questions about which paint to use for specific projects we have going on.

First, what paint is best for typical interior use? I've read not to use latex, and that acrylic is expensive - but no clear consensus on the best paint that isn't necessarily top of the line. Is the SW Emerald interior paint decent? We have SW colors picked out.

We are also going to paint some brand new unfinished oak cabinets. I want these to be durable and have read about a few different kinds of cabinet paint. We will be spraying the doors and possibly rolling on the boxes. Will Zinsser BIN primer work for both? I've also seen a little bit about alkyd enamel paint, is Behr decent for that? Should we stay away from any paint brands in general?

Third, and this is a much farther off project, we have a full wall brick fireplace that's been painted with what seems like the cheapest latex paint Walmart sells. What are my chances of getting that off with a hearty application of Citri-Strip? Or what would take that off, if not that? I certainly don't want to paint over the cheap stuff because it's already peeling off as is.

I know this is all over the place. Thanks in advance for any guidance.

BIN is a good product but is nasty to work with being a shellac. I typically use it for sealing knots on wood so they don't bleed through the top coat. Are you going to spray the BIN or brush it on ? Shellac dries really fast and will be hard to Brush on doors without it dragging

Pro mar 200 water based alkyd semi gloss for the cabinet and trim paint


Solvent based alkyd paint will yellow over time and thinner price is through the roof and then you have to dispose of it properly or will kill grass and trees


For walls/ceilings I like pro mar 400
Flat for ceilings
Eggshell for walls unless you just like the look of flat.


If unfinished oak, prime with this

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zinsser-Bulls-Eye-2-Interior-Exterior-Multi-Purpose-Water-Based-Wall-and-Ceiling-Primer-Actual-Net-Contents-128-fl-oz/50276495


The grain will raise after priming

Let dry and block sand with 220 sand paper sanding in the direction of the grain

Vacuum and wipe down. Caulk and putty
Apply 2 coats of pro mar 200 water based alkyd


Not sure on fireplace, post pics


If peeling I would scrape it down and then sand and then use an oil based primer to lock in the existing paint on it such as this

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Zinsser-Cover-Stain-Interior-Exterior-High-Hiding-Oil-Based-Wall-and-Ceiling-Primer-Actual-Net-Contents-128-fl-oz/3609490

I did not care for sherwin williams super paint. It gets a ton of love on this board, but I could not get it to spread unless I put it on with a tar mop, and three coats at that. I had much better luck with the behr stuff. Not the cheap behr. They have like 5 tiers at the depot. I used 4/5 and have been happy.

Are you doing this all yourself, or contracting? Sounds like you are doing a bunch and the cabinet stuff takes a huge amount of time, especially if you don't do it all the time. I would hire it out and ask what paint they recommend. As long as it seemed quality, I would go with what they wanted.

My two cents...

Agree with Milwaukee that I have also never had great success with Sher Will. I use almost exclusively Ben Moore.

But product is only half the task. Your technique (and tools to a degree) is equally important. You mentioned that you will spray the doors and roll the cabinets...I feel you will get a significantly different texture which may look odd?

Other things to consider: (some may be pretty obvious)
What is the air temp of where you are doing the painting? Cooler is better than too hot to give the paint a chance to level out as it dries.
If you do spray, where are you doing that? Most sprayers leave some 'over spray' in the air that may drift onto other things.
Do you have good lighting? Easier to see minor fuzzes or particles as you go.
How are your brushes (if used)? Top end brushes are way different than cheap ones.
Surface prep? Use a good light to see imperfections and tend to them (sanding/filling) before final coat.

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Third, and this is a much farther off project, we have a full wall brick fireplace that's been painted with what seems like the cheapest latex paint Walmart sells. What are my chances of getting that off with a hearty application of Citri-Strip? Or what would take that off, if not that? I certainly don't want to paint over the cheap stuff because it's already peeling off as is.

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If your mission is to strip the paint and bring it back to its original appearance, you might consider having it dry ice blasted. I have zero idea how much that would cost, but it's a much less damaging version of sand blasting.

Contractors like ProMar because it is application friendly and cost effective per gallon, but not the best quality paint for the interior of a home. You can read articles about it being inferior to Super Paint and above at SW. Just google ProMar vs _____ and you will see painttalk threads covering this, including PM400.

We've used Super Paint for years but went up to Duration and I think it is noticeably better in Satin. We just had our entire interior painted. I sprayed Duration in the garage and wish we would have used it for the rest of the walls.

The ceiling I would stick with whatever flat you want...ProMar 200/400 included.

You may want to look into an exterior paint on the fireplace.

I used a mix of Promar 200 and Cashmere on our home. I like both. I agree with satin on walls and flat on ceilings. I used promar on the ceilings and in the closets as well as things like the pantry. I used Cashmere on the walls in the living areas, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

Thanks for all the information, it really does help.

We ended up with satin Duration for walls and semi-gloss ProClassic for trim. There was a considerable sale so it worked out. We have some higher-end rollers and so far it looks to be going on great.

I do think that spraying all the cabinets, including boxes, will work out better for us. I have been doing some research on methods that include multiple steps - some combination of sand, fill, paint, multiple times. We'll be doing this ourselves to save on $$$ but are happy to take the time to do it to the best of our ability. I was going to borrow my dad's paint sprayer - no idea the brand but it's decent. I'll be using a paint booth and hanging the doors to paint, similar to this.

We have the ability to do this in our house vs in our garage, if being in the AC would help the process. I just want to make sure we use the right paint. It sounds like a water based alkyd + the Zinnser bullseye 2 primer might work best for us - we aren't in any big rush so waiting for full cure won't be an issue.

Fireplace photos.


Previous owners were Cowboys fans. But that blue needs to go. I've never heard of dry ice blasting but we would need an option we can do ourselves. It's not really my goal to get back to bare brick, I'm looking to get it to a point where I can cover it up and have that last a while. Exterior paint is a good thought, would be more durable.

Wow, that fireplace.

Starting with a stripper product isn't going to hurt since the paint has to go. You may also try to attack it with a fire wheel on a grinder, but it would be slow going.

As far as cabinets, BM Advance is what my semi-pro neighbor used to use for all of his projects. He's switched to XXX because the recoat time is less but finish is slightly worse (can't recall the paint at the moment). I've use the BM Advance on one cabinet project and it turned out like a factor finish, even rolled on. He uses a fujispray, which may be worth the investment for you, especially if you have future spray projects in mind.

I'll throw my vote in for SuperPaint. When we were having our place painted, I asked the painter what he would use if he was painting his house and money wasn't an issue (essentially had the range from ProMar all the way up to Emerald). He said he would use SuperPaint, so that's what we went with. I asked him why he wouldn't use Emerald (I already knew ProMar was builder-grade and wasn't an option), and he said that anytime he has tried to touch-up a wall painted with Emerald, you could always see the touch-up, it never completely blended in, whereas with SuperPaint, that wasn't an issue.

After 5 years, I can say that this is accurate - I have been able to go through the house when needed and touch up dings and scrapes and it still matches perfectly.

I haven't had to paint cabinets, but we used ProClassic on all our trim and it has held up great. Not having to screw with any oil-based paint was a major plus.

Finally, regarding that hideous fireplace...are you determined to keep it as a full wall of brick? If there ever was a candidate for a full tear out or cover-up (with new material, not just paint), I think you have it.

So the room with this fire place is the only one in the whole house with a slab foundation, rest is pier and beam. But I'm pretty sure this behemoth fireplace is making the slab sink on that end. There's a big crack running down the middle of the room because of this thing. I'm open to anything we can do ourselves, but I was planning on calling Anchor Foundation to get their thoughts on it.

I like the look of built-ins like these around it.

Those built-in are easy to build. One thing to think about though is that your hearth appears to go the full length of the wall.

If you want built-ins like that, do you plan to attach them to the brick or remove the brick from the sides?

Mmmmm....that Sony Trinitron.

I have a question for the board.

We got a quote from a company to paint the exterior for our home: 2400 sq ft two story, with a 140 ft casita in the back. There is a lot of trim they are going to replace that's pressed board and you can see it swelled in some spots.

Anyway: they told my wife they prefer to use Benjamin-Moore. The price of the job they quoted includes paint through them. I've always used SW. I know the lines (mostly), and like how many locations they have.

The paint company claims that BM does a better job of keeping their base recipe consistent ( I assume that is the white, or tint base) and easier to match adding touchup years later.

Any thoughts here? I guess if you stick with BM Aura or Regal.

I've always used SW, but I believe the consensus I've seen over the years on TexAgs is that BM vs. SW is a Coke vs. Pepsi argument. Both are quality products that are much better than anything you get at a box store.

Benjamin Moore and Sherwin are both fine. Don't use Behr. Absolute garbage.