Painting the ceiling can be something of a task. There are some unique considerations when painting a ceiling that you don’t really have to address when painting a wall. However, painting the ceiling is fairly simple. With proper preparation, anyone can paint the ceilings in their home with ease.
Tape and Cloths
Taping and drop cloths are the most essential step for painting a ceiling. If you’re painting the wall, you might just tape around the baseboards and window frames, but that’s it. When you’re painting the ceiling, you can get a drip from anywhere. So, you’ll need to tape around the baseboards of the house and line the entire floor with drop cloths or plastic. Then, you’ll need to tape along the edge of the ceiling. Hanging some cloths or plastic from this tape is a good idea as well.
Choosing a Primer
Priming your ceiling will often allow you to use only one coat, which will eliminate drips. You need to use the right primer for your ceiling though. If you have a smooth ceiling or a very lightly textured ceiling, such as drywall, you can use a simple primer that you would use for any wall. If you have a textured ceiling such as wood paneling or a popcorn ceiling, you’ll need to use a high-build primer. A high-build primer is one that is thicker than normal primers and thus lays down a thicker layer. That thicker layer will help cover the texture of the ceiling and make it easier to apply a smooth coat of paint.
Sprayer or Roller
Once you’ve done all of that and allowed the primer to dry, you are ready to start painting. You might choose to have eye protection and protection for your clothes to protect against dripping paint. You can roll the paint on your ceiling or you can spray it. If you choose to spray the paint, it will go on smoother and faster, but it takes a little bit of practice to get a handle on how to do it effectively. If you choose to roll the paint onto the ceiling, the most important thing is to not load too much paint on your roller.
Too much paint will be more prone to dripping. Dripping paint is annoying, and it can ruin the smooth appearance of the ceiling. If you’ve primed the ceiling properly, you might only need one coat of paint anyway, and a thin one will likely suffice. That’s all there is to painting a ceiling; it’s not as difficult as some people might think.