I have a metal (w/wood core) exterior door from Home Depot that I wanted to paint. It has white factory finish. I asked guys from HD paint department how do I prep it and they told me to paint latex over factory finish - no priming or sanding needed. I did just as they said, cleaned surface with rubbing alcohol and painted with 2 coats of exterior latex yesterday. Well, it did not adhere well - if you scratch it with a fingernail, it starts to come off. I decided today to redo the job and just peeled the paint off the door in ten minutes - it peeled off as as stretchy film. Now how do I do the job right the second time?

I have those white plaster ceilings (70s house) and over the years, they have discoloured a bit.........Just the odd stain here and there, but also they are yellowish all around the perimeter. Someone suggested to me that I use Kilz (might just be a Canadian brand - not sure) to paint the perimeter for about the first 6 inches or so, and then (using a long-handled roller) use regular ceiling paint to paint the rest of the ceiling. Kilz is a primer that apparently covers up stains. I would be buying the water based kilz (not the oil). What I'm wondering is - Wouldn't regular ceiling paint work almost as well? Regular paint seems to hide stains fairly well, unless it's a really bad one... Also - what sense would it make to do the edges with Kilz and the rest of the ceilings with regular ceiling paint? Why not just use the Kilz latex primer (which is white) to do the whole ceiling then? I believe the Kilz and the ceiling paint are similar in price. Why would it be necessary to paint over white primer anyhow? Just trying to make it easier for me. :) Any suggestions? Thanks.