Painting Ceilings, The Big Challenge
Painting a ceiling is one of the more challenging house painting jobs. Paint drips onto your face and onto the floor. The angle makes it more difficult to use a brush or even a roller on a pole. A ladder is often needed. Even the lighting is different. To top it off, ceilings are sometimes texture coated. How can you deal with all these difficulties to get a good final result?
The first step to overcoming those hurdles is proper paint selection and using the right tools with it.
Paints come in a variety of types. Oil and latex are only the two broadest categories. Finish is important, too. High gloss will create lots of light reflection, giving the room a very bright look as light from lamps bounces off it. Flat paint will give a much more subtle look.
But beyond these overall types, there are specialty paints used for certain ceilings, such as those with texture coating or acoustic tile. The latter is sometimes used in rooms or areas set aside for home entertainment.
If the ceiling is textured with stucco-like plaster, brushing and rolling are out. The texture will simply crumble off. Spraying becomes mandatory. That creates the need for good ventilation and some extra skill. Using a sprayer is more difficult than it looks. The paint has to be just the right consistency. Otherwise, the sprayer either gums up, or the paint sprays out like water.
Next, it’s important to decide whether primer is needed. For most new surfaces, it's essential. Many more top coats would be needed without it. Also, ceilings are especially prone to water damage. So, a primer becomes a great tool to help hide discolorations that would show through the top coat without one. It also helps provide a good surface to keep paint adhering well. That will help reduce drips.
To reduce dripping in general, make sure to mix paint with the right consistency. You can test the result partially by painting part of a small vertical surface, such as the inside of a closet. Gravity is still working against you, so if the paint is too thin (or too thick), it will run down the wall. On a ceiling, that would be a drip.
About Author: David Hueber is an online expert in roofing industry. He also offers top quality tips like: House Painting, Interior painting, Exterior Paint & House Painters etc.
