Use a stepladder to reach the ceiling when cutting in and using a short-handled paint roller.
While it might feel as though you're living under a mound of earth with your brown ceiling, it doesn't have to be that way. Painting over a brown ceiling lightens your room and brings a sense of space and height back to the room. If it's a large ceiling, rest and stretch every so often during the process; painting ceilings can tire your neck and arms, so breaks are important.
Instructions
1. Clean the ceiling with a soft broom to get rid of dust, cobwebs and dead insects. Wear a mask and goggles in case they fall onto your face. You'll also need the mask and goggles for when you begin painting.
2. Calculate the approximate amount of paint you'll need by measuring the square footage of the ceiling. Multiply the width by the length in feet. Columbia Paint and Coatings advises a general ratio of 300 square feet per gallon of paint, but double check the paint to square footage ratio on the side of the paint can for both the emulsion and the primer. Some paints give better coverage than others, or are thicker, which will affect the amount of paint you need.
3. Buy a primer as well as the emulsion for the top coat, either in white if you're using white paint, or a pastel of the eventual color. Don't skimp on this. A single coat of primer prepares and seals the surface, creating an impermeable base so that the old dark paint won't show through. If you don't prime the surface, the brown paint will haunt you even if you apply two or three coats of your emulsion paint.
4. Take out as much furniture as possible and cover anything you can't move with drop cloths, including carpeting or floorboards. Open windows and doors to get as much ventilation as possible. If you have a ceiling light, make sure it is switched off and unscrew the fitting to paint under it.
5. Paint the edges of the ceiling with primer where it joins the walls. Painting up against another edge is known as cutting in and you need to climb a stepladder to get close and accurate. Use a cutting in brush used specifically for this purpose -- the bristles are cut at an angle to create a straighter line than you would get trying to use a standard bristle brush, which is important if the walls are a darker color than the ceiling will be. Drag your stepladder to the light fitting and paint the small area of ceiling above it.
6. Use a long-handled roller to apply primer to the main expanse of the ceiling to keep you from running up and down a stepladder changing position and refilling your paint tray every few minutes. Apply the amount of primer recommended on the can for best coverage, and allow the primer to dry for the recommended time.
7. Cut in the edges of the ceiling with your cutting in brush and ceiling emulsion paint. When you finish each section, use a short roller to smooth out any brush marks on the ceiling, as close to the edge as you can manage without smearing the wall. Do the same for the area above the light fitting and allow the paint to dry.
8. Repeat with another coat of emulsion unless the brand you bought is high quality and has the covering quality of two coats together. Also check the ceiling to ensure you have covered all the brown paint. If not, wait for this coat to dry and add one more coat to finish covering the brown paint.
Tags: ceiling with, amount paint, amount paint need, brown ceiling, brown paint, cutting brush, edges ceiling