Now and then you need to have a ceiling painted in a room. It can be tricky to paint just the ceiling and not damage the adjoining walls with unwanted paint. The easiest way to accomplish this is to hire a professional painting company. However, if you don’t have time or budget for a professional painting company, we will show you how to paint a ceiling yourself. This video gives you the steps on how to paint a ceiling with just a few tools and some time.
Preparation for Ceiling Painting
- Cleaning
- Wipe down the ceiling to remove dust and cobwebs.
- Masking Walls
- Use a hand masker and 9ft contractors’ plastic film.
- Go around the room’s perimeter, applying tape where the walls meet the ceiling.
- Sealing Tape Edges
- Press the tape into the edge with your finger to ensure a good seal.
- Extend the plastic film down to cover the walls completely.
- Applying Tape Caulking
- Use tape caulking technique for crisp lines between ceiling and walls.
- Covering the Room
- Cover the floor and any uncovered items with drop cloths to protect from paint splatters.
Selecting the Right Paint and Sheen for Your Ceiling
When learning how to paint a ceiling, an important part is choosing the correct paint. More importantly, the sheen. The sheen recommended for ceilings by professional painters is a flat sheen. A ceiling highlights all imperfections on its surface due to the way it reflects light. Light hits ceilings much differently than any other surface in your house. A flat sheen will absorb that light and therefore not reflect and highlight the imperfections. Most paint stores even offer paint that is manufactured specifically for ceilings. The good news is, it’s usually offered at a much lower price point than other paints.
Ceiling Painting Techniques
Now that everything is covered and masked off, it’s time to cut in the edges. Cutting in the edges of the ceiling is accomplished with a good quality, angled brush, and your paint. Brush the paint along the entire perimeter of your ceiling. Cutting in is done to apply paint in the areas that are too tight for a roller to get to. You can only get so close to the edge of the ceiling with a roller, so cutting in is always needed. You can see the cut line in this video on how to paint a ceiling, right before the rolling starts.
Tips for Using a Roller on Ceilings
Finally, you are ready to paint! The easiest way to paint a ceiling is to use a paint roller on an extension pole. This way you can reach most ceilings without having to climb up and down a ladder. The best roller size for a textured ceiling is a ¾” nap. This sizing is the best for rough or textured surfaces and allows the roller to get into all the hills and valleys of the texture to cover evenly. A common mistake made when rolling paint onto a ceiling is to underload your roller. It is important to load that roller up with paint to get good, even coverage.
When applying paint with a roller, start by rolling the first stripe of paint at an angle to lay some of the paint down. Then go back and roll in straight passes to smooth out and spread the paint evenly. Cover the entire ceiling in this way for the first coat. Once the first coat is dry to the touch, it’s time for the 2nd and final coat. And, voila, you have a freshly painted ceiling!
Throughout this video on how to paint a ceiling, you have hopefully learned some valuable techniques and tricks for painting your ceiling. We hope you’ve enjoyed it.
