BRADY, TEXAS - The age and substrate of the 110-year-old McCulloch County Courthouse presented a number of challenges in a 2009 renovation.

The Texas Historical Commission wanted a flat paint for historical accuracy, so McMillan Painting of San Angelo, Texas, chose one of its favorite coatings, ProMar 200 Interior Latex, in a flat sheen. To prevent too much of a shine on the metal ceilings, they used ProMar 200 Eg-shel. Sherwin-Williams' highest quality exterior paint, Duration Exterior Latex, was used outside. Since powerwashing was out due to the potential damage it could cause the sandstone substrate, crews had to hand sand everything. For metal gable areas near the building's peaks, McMillan chose a system of Pro-Cryl Universal Primer followed with a topcoat of Bond-Plex Waterbased Acrylic Coating.

"I've tried a lot of different products on metal, and I knew a system of Bond-Plex and Pro-Cryl would give us the aggressive adhesion we needed," says Larry McMillan of McMillan Painting. "I used it on my own home's metal roof and a number of school buildings with tremendous success."

Woodwork was one of the biggest interior challenges. The longleaf pine trim had originally been stained and then painted numerous times. McMillan crews started with paint stripping products, followed by intense hand labor with picks and brass brushes to remove the stubborn old layers of coatings in all the nooks and crannies. McMillan found some wood in the closet still in the original condition and had it matched in Sher-Wood Wiping Stain at his Sherwin-Williams store. "It's our favorite stain," McMillan says. "Once you have it matched it is very consistent."