How I stopped worrying and learned to love the joint compound..........
Just remember to spray with dullcote before moving on.
I worked on the roof shingles - jury is still out. I started with sponging light gray from a spray can. Once dry I went back with two other shades of gray and some dark red (sponge and acylic paint). Normally I would spray one color, dullcote then work with powders. I'm kind of getting into the sponge technique. One note make the pieces of sponge longer than you think you need because when you dip it into the paint you always get paint on your finger. When the sponge is too short you end up finger painting.
I will re-paint the black and see how it looks.