I screwed up painting my dining room. Help!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

I painted it with a semi-gloss but didn't like the color so I painted over it with a flat white. The flat paint did this cracking eggshell thing. Yeah, I'm an idiot, I didn't know it would happen that way.

Any recommendations to fix it?

[trotsky]

1. A skim coat or 2 of drywall compound might do it.

Along with lots of sanding and mess, of course. Certain wall textures might hide it too, but those involve some work.

[madmax]

2. The semi-gloss is too slick

You need to give the surface a little 'tooth' so the new paint will adhere. Here's what I would do:

Use a broom handle or painter's pole and attach a drywall sanding attachment. They're about the size of a floor wax applicator
3"x 6". I don't know what they're called but, it looks like mesh and is used to sand spackle and attach that to the sanding attachment.

I'm terrible at explaining things but, use this in a similar fashion as you would if you're painting the wall with a pole and roller. You don't have to press hard. We're going for just a little 'tooth'. Shouldn't take long at all and is a heck of a lot easier than using one of the sanding foam things. After you've finished just go over the area with large rag. I'd use an old t-shirt or dish towel.

You can get the attachment a mesh sanding thing at Lowe's or Home Depot - inexpensive.

Good Luck to you.