Touch Up The Paint On A Popcorn Ceiling

The ceiling can be one of the most challenging areas to paint.

Touching up the paint on a popcorn ceiling involves some unique challenges. Most ceilings are too high for most painters to comfortably reach from the floor using an ordinary paintbrush or roller. The heavy texture of a popcorn ceiling can make it difficult to apply a uniform coat of paint. It can be difficult to properly light the work area, as most home lighting is designed to direct illumination down and away from the ceiling. However, a fresh, uniformly-painted ceiling can transform a room's entire atmosphere.

Instructions

1. Tape off the walls around the area of ceiling you intend to paint. Cover floor and furniture with drop cloths.

2. Set up at least two lamps or work lights to illuminate the work area from different angles. The combination of heavy texture and similar shades of paint make it difficult to tell painted from unpainted ceiling without proper lighting.

3. Cut in -- create a fully painted border of 1 to 2 inches -- from the walls and around ceiling fixtures with an angle brush. Change your line of sight often, to make sure paint is applied uniformly to all sides of the texture, by moving a step up or down if using a stepladder or moving a pace or two to the side if standing on a level platform.

4. Paint large, open areas using a roller. Use a slit-foam roller or a masonry roller with a heavy nap to ensure that paint is being applied uniformly at all levels of the texture.

5. Wait for the paint to dry fully before applying a second coat. Refer to the label on the can for drying time.

Tags: applied uniformly, heavy texture, make difficult, popcorn ceiling, walls around, work area