How to select a color to paint various rooms in the home? What color guides are best

I have always been pleased with Behr paints from the Home Depot, though I know they are a bit pricey.

From my experience less expensive paints tend to have the following in common (and I'm sure this is by no means comprehensive)

• less covering ability ... the pigments used don't seem to be able to provide as good a barrier to bleed through from what's on the wall now

• less coverage ... probably related to the first point, but they also don't seem to get the same amount of square footage per gallon

• more spatter/drips, the paint itself seems thinner leading to more cleanup

• less selection of colours

• less durable, the less expensive semi glosses that I've used don't seem to retain their finish as long leading to repainting earlier.

• more marking, again related to the finish, the walls seem to mark up much easier

Again this is only based on my experiences, Sears used to have a good quality paint but lately I've bought Behr. CIL is probably good in most cases as is Benjamin Moore. I've used a number of bargain brands and don't really recommend any of them, and the last time I used a gallon of Walmart house brand was the last time I used a gallon from Walmart :-P

Hope this (mostly opnion) helps.

I've had better luck with strppers if you cover it with plastic food wrap after applying it. Be aware that some strippers will disolve the plastic so test a sample first,if it disolves the plastic try it with wax paper. The idea is to keep the solvents from evaporating before the paint has softened. Any latex paint should peel off easily. If you have oil based under it scuff it with some sandpaper and reapply the stripper.The sanding seems to break the "shell" and allow the stripper to penetrate. As DAO1 mentioned be cautious of lead. Avoid using a heat gun and allow for plenty of vetilation.