Well the Sherwin Williams Cordovan was definitely too red. Put up a huge sample patch, and it just wasn't going to work.
Primer
After looking at it for almost two weeks because there wasn't enough time to deal with it, I finally went back to the Eco-Green Living store in D.C. and got them to mix up some SafeCoat paint to match the Valspar Chocolate Raspberry. Slight hiccup in getting the paint, as we went in on Saturday, and were told that they'd contact the manufacturer and get the formula on Tuesday, and call us back. Didn't hear from them by Thursday, so I called back, and it was finally Friday before they said they had the formula and Saturday before I could pick it up.
On Saturday I re-primed the wall where I had painted on the Cordovan, and tackled the first coat of new paint on Sunday. In all likelihood I picked the absolute worst two days to paint, as it poured buckets nearly continuously from 8 AM on Sunday until some time Monday night.
The first coat went on pretty ok, but Jenn wasn't happy with some visible brush stroke lines in the trim area between the kitchen pass-through and door, and I was getting some tiny air bubbles from the roller. Going back over the area with the roller to try and pop them became a frustrating proposition, as the tiniest variation in pressure from side to side ended up laying a line of new paint from the edge of the roller.
The edger I bought seemed to work fine, though it did lay down a pretty thick coat in some places and definitely needed to be worked into the wall more. The Purdy roller was the same one I used for the Cordovan, but that didn't seem to make a difference. I had stuck it in a plastic bag, in the freezer, after I finished that color, and then washed it out before using it again.
Unfortunately, I didn't clean up my brushes quick enough after this coat, and after maybe half an hour of scrubbing, I finally pitched the roller. Too much paint got matted into the nap and I was afraid using it for the second coat would result in a terrible-looking finish. So I stopped at Lowes on the way home for a new roller and some other supplies, and headed home. Unfortunately they didn't have Purdy rollers, so I found the best-looking half-inch nap that was on the shelf.
Re-rolled the wall, but the roller was clearly inferior as it was shedding on the wall, despite wrapping it in masking tape, to try and remove the stray fibers. I don't know if it was shedding with the initial application, or of they were coming off as I tried to smooth out the bubbles over the stickier paint. In any case I spent maybe fifteen minutes trying to pick the fibers off the wall, only to mar the paint around it, which necessitated a fresh roll-over in order to fix - which ended up depositing a few more fibers on the wall. Eventually I gave up and simply went with it. It's one of those things that 9 times out of 10 you wouldn't notice - unless you knew it was there, and you'd always, always see it whenever you looked.
Eventually though, the wall was done. We got some foam brushes to try and fill in over the brush lines in the kitchen wall trim area. Had to scrub some paint off the trim in a couple spots, but nothing too bad. The worst part was when I removed the trim tape and it pulled off some paint and primer with it. But 20 minutes of touch-up, and it was right as rain.
Lessons learned? Well, definitely, don't let your drop cloth and plastic sit there for two weeks. Make time to fix the paint job. Buy high-quality tools. It'll totally be worth the investment. Always make sure to de-fuzz your rollers. Don't try to pour paint outside when there's wind gusts. Have a bottle of Resolve Carpet Cleaner on ready reserve, because at some point you WILL drop a spot of paint, and you WILL step on it, and you WILL track it onto your rug. Take the tape off the wall as soon as you're sure the paint won't be running down the wall onto the trim. And maintaining even pressure on the roller is a lot harder than you think.
In the end though, it was a very, very satisfying result. We think it looks sharp, and it was a pretty rewarding - if occasionally aggravating - experience.
Next up, the half bath!