The thoughts of having to paint a ceiling in a house is enough to make most people skip the job altogether. Nothing seems less fun than standing on chairs and tables getting covered in drop after drop of paint. Then you have the slow ache in your arms and shoulders from working at silly angles that your body was never designed to work at. You don’t need to quit before you start – here’s a few tips to make sure your ceiling painting job goes that bit smoother.
The first thing you need are the right tools and equipment – making mistakes here can really cost you later on.
The first and biggest item on your shopping list is paint. You need to know which type of paint is which. For starters you can choose from the two main types of paint – oil and latex paint. Then you need to look at the type of finish you want to achieve.
Gloss paints are ideal for reflecting light around a room so these are ideal for rooms that might not get a lot of natural sunlight.
Matte paints have almost no sheen to them so give a far more subtle look and feel to a room.
If there’s a texture to the ceiling you’re going to paint then you can forget about using a roller. They don’t work with most textured ceilings and can actually cause damage if you do use them on that type of surface. Your other option here is spraying (hand-painting will take forever). The main problem with spraying is it takes a certain amount of skill so you might need to hire in that skill instead of trying your hand at it.
So the next question is whether you should use primer or not? There’s a lot more reasons for applying primer than not applying it. If you have a neutral color already on the wall and you’re applying another neutral color on top of that then you might get away with it. The only risk is patches of discoloration on the ceiling which are really, really going to stand out later on. The extra few minutes spent priming the ceiling can make a huge different to the final result.
You can really reduce the mess you make by making sure you’ve mixed your paint properly. Test your mix by trying the paint on a small patch of the ceiling. If it’s not thick enough it will run and you’ll wind up covered in drops of paint later on.
Probably the most useful items in your ceiling painting toolkit is an extension pole for the roller so you’re not damaging your neck or shoulders. It will allow you to paint ceilings – especially the higher types of ceilings without doing yourself harm. When you’re painting do your best to keep the pole at an angle. This will stop you getting covered in spatters of paint and keep the biggest stress off your neck, back and especially your shoulders.
Preparation is key to having a great finish and that’s why interior painting tips are so useful before you even get started!
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