Ready to roll
Not many people enjoy painting ceilings. If it's not something you do every day, you'll discover sore neck and shoulder muscles you never thought you had the next morning. Adhering to a few tips can make painting ceilings easier, starting with choosing the right paint and tools. And who says ceilings need to be flat white?
Preparation is Key
Prepare the ceiling and prepare the room. Whether you're painting just the ceiling or the whole room, remove everything possible--furniture, wall hangings and window coverings. Whatever you cannot remove, cover with plastic sheeting. A roll of painter's plastic covers a lot more than the little square plastic drop cloths. If you are leaving any window coverings in place, cover them with plastic and secure it with tape.
Vacuum or dust off ceiling cobwebs, do any necessary repairs and prime the ceiling. If possible, unscrew the canopy from the ceiling light fixture, and tape some plastic to the fixture itself.
Use the Best Tools and Materials
Use quality brushes and rollers. A lambswool roller will carry twice the paint and drip less than a cheaper roller. A sturdy extension pole is mandatory for painting ceilings and will save your neck muscles too.
Unless you are using a colored paint or specialty paint, purchase paint formulated for ceilings. It is usually designed to cover with one or two coats and dries to a dead flat finish to minimize the appearance of surface imperfections. Some manufacturers now sell paint that goes on one color--such as pink--but dries white, so you can see if you've missed any spots while you're painting.
Ceiling Painting Tips
Do your "cutting in" with the brush first, by painting along the edge of the ceiling and around ceiling fixtures. Make your cut-in 3 to 4 inches wide. If you do the cutting in after you've rolled, you run the risk of having visible brush marks in the finish.
Roll your ceiling in a grid pattern, starting at one corner of the room. Avoid missed and thin spots by loading your roller frequently, instead of trying to squeeze every bit of paint out before you dip again. On a flat or lightly textured ceiling, your loaded roller will cover about 4 square feet. When doing two coats, roll the first coat in one direction (for instance, working north to south), allow it to dry for about four hours, and roll the second coat in the opposite direction.
Pay attention to drips on the wall while you work, and wipe them down while they're still wet. Dried drips of ceiling paint on your walls are unsightly and hard to remove.
Although flat white or off-white is a common ceiling paint color, consider adding more impact with a deeper color or even a specialty paint such as metallic or sand finish. See Resources for ideas on changing the color of your ceilings.
Tags: painting ceilings, ceiling paint, cover with, flat white, Painting Tips, roller will, specialty paint