Lift and brighten any cap outer space in your home with a new pelage of rouge by following these tips for streak - free professional - timbre results .

If you cogitate paint a ceiling is just likepainting a wall , guess again . There ’s a lot more to consider , like blusher dribble , different surface materials , and the append challenge of painting top - down . But this is still a task you could do yourself . When selectingpaint for your cap , opt for flat , flatness , or eggshell finishes , which tend to hide imperfectness and ceiling streak . With asturdy ladderand our tips below , you ’ll be done in a weekend .

What You’ll Need

Equipment / Tools

Materials

Instructions

How to Paint the Ceiling

Once you ’ve gathered everything that you ask to set out paint your ceiling , grab a supporter and get started .

Here ’s the sound way to paint your ceiling with lead from our experts .

Prep Room

Before you could begin painting your roof , you need toprep the way . cover version furnishing and flooring with drop cloth cloths to protect surfaces from pigment splattering . Even better , relocate furnishing to another sphere of the house so you could move around the elbow room unencumbered .

Protect the top of the bulwark or crown mould withpainters tapeunless you contrive to paint the bulwark . In this case , you may overlap the wall slightly and paint over it by and by . Protect the edges of lite - fixture rim or canopies that touch the ceiling using painter ’s tape , or unscrew and swing the canopy slightly off from the cap so you may paint near the opening . When you polish off painting , return the canopy to its original position . Protect ceiling - devotee blades with plastic or newspaper secure with tape .

Clean Ceiling

Make certain you have a hardy , safe step ladder that remains firm as you reach for the ceiling . Shine a brightness level on the ceiling so you may spy imperfections and fill with spackling chemical compound . countenance makeweight dry out and gumption smooth . If your room has a popcorn ceiling texture that you ’d care to remove , startle here for how - to teaching , and remember that you ’ll first want to check for the presence of asbestos .

Next , block any brand you ’ve blob . Whether they ’re spots from soil , smoke , or a leaky cap , cover cap smear first with a stain - impede primer so the colouration wo n’t percolate through the finishing pelage .

Cut In with Paint

utilize a 2- or 2 - 1/2 - in angled brush to contract in a 3- to 4 - column inch - panoptic band of paint around the sharpness of the ceiling . This allows you to twine on paint later on without getting too close to the walls and accidentally getting pigment on them from the crimper . part in one recess of the cap and paint out in both directions several understructure before applying paint to this first section of the ceiling while the edge is still wet . Or if you have a helper cutting in , at once follow the help and utilize key to the roof with a roll .

Continue Painting

The in force pigment crimper for ceilings is a 9 - inch roll with a 1/2 - in nap that holds a generous amount of pigment . add up an annex handle so you may roll out paint on the ceiling without getting on a ladder . As you tramp , apply only moderate pressure so paint does n’t splatter . ramble the paint in small sections , using a back - and - forth motion , starting in one turning point of the room and working your way across . Do n’t roll the paint on in zigzag or W - shape patterns .

Finish and Apply Second Coat

As you work your way across the cap , set the roller a foot off from the lactating edge and roll the next section into the wet edge , overlapping it slightly to prevent ceiling streak . Keep roll until the full roof is covered . Let juiceless approximately 2 to 3 hr and apply a 2d coat , make out in as noted before and then roam on another coat vertical to the first coating for best coverage .

Tips for Painting a Popcorn-Textured Ceiling

If you plan to keep the popcorntexture on your ceiling , use the flat top of a screwdriver to knock off a thin band of texture where the cap receive the paries . This will allow you to attain a cleaner bound when you paint your ceiling ’s edges , whether you opt to use painter ’s magnetic tape or just a steady helping hand .

When it ’s time to twine on the top pelage , use a segmented foam tumbler or a blockheaded - nap ( 3/4 - column inch ) tumbler . To foreclose the texture from over - saturating and peeling forth , apply paint with a light hand , and judge not to roll back over an arena once you ’ve applied the key . get the ceiling dry out soundly before applying a 2nd pelage .

How to Clean Up When You’re Done

Your light touch and roller should n’t be disposable . take how to cleanse them , and they ’ll see you through plenty of rouge projects . To secure you get brushes cleaned up in a well-timed way , it create salutary sense to have your clean-living - up supplies ready to go so you could clean up like a shot . If you retard , the paint will cure on your brushes , roller , and pans , and it becomes a more of a pain to clean house up ( and closely out of the question to fully remove it ) .

cabin with light blue painted ceiling

Credit: Marty Baldwin

using painters tape to mask wall from ceiling

Credit: Marty Baldwin

using spackle to hide ceiling imperfections

smoothing out spackle on ceiling with sand block

painting edges around ceiling with brush

Credit: Marty Baldwin

using roller to paint ceiling

Credit: Hannah Bruneman