Honestly, my first Milky Way shot looked like a sad gray smudge on a black screen. Felt pretty proud of it too before I saw what a real camera could do. Phone pics and city lights just wreck the whole view. Now I annoy my friends by pointing at the dark spots in photos, calling them cool dust clouds. They just nod and slowly back away.

Sounds like someone who's never tried to make a corner look clean. That first coat always goes on looking terrible and you realize it's a real skill. What's the worst DIY fail you've seen someone attempt?

Same, those deep dives kill the vibe lol. Like @jesse_lopez14 said about the rain thing, just tell me if the book was good.

That cornstarch slurry trick never worked for me either until I got the ratio right. Heard a food scientist explain it on a podcast once, totally changed my game.

Test patches save so much time in the long run (even if surprises can be fun sometimes). I'd rather know what I'm getting into before committing to a whole project.