We get a lot of questions in the store about the right way to paint a ceiling. It's just one of those projects people are nervous about tackling. Well, the good news is that this project is something that's relatively easy to accomplish--as long as you know the right steps to take.
Once you've got all the right tools, you need to take some time to prep your ceiling. Scrape away any loose or peeling apint that may exist on your ceiling. Repair any dents or holes or gouges using spackling compound.
After you've done that, you should clean the ceiling. This is always a "popular" idea--after all, who doesn't love wiping down their ceiling? Well, popular or not, it's the right thing to do. If your ceiling is smooth, wipe it down with a solution of TSP (Trisodium Phosphate). This is a great surface prep cleaner when you're going to paint--it removes dirt and other surface contaminants and it rinses clean away, leaving no residue.
If your ceiling is textured, wiping it down with a rag can be difficult. If this is the case, either broom it off carefully with a kitchen broom or, better yet, vacuum it using the bristled attachment on a shopvac. Either way, give some attention to getting any cobwebs or accumulated dust down before you get ready to paint.
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Step Two: Taping and Protecting Your Room
The next step you'll want to take is to tape off the ceiling. Do this by running a strip of Blue Painter's Tape
along the wall where it meets the ceiling. Be advised though: if your ceiling is textured, this masking tape is only going to provide limited protection. Be careful when painting near the tape otherwise you might find paint bleeding under the tape and onto your walls. (Because of this, a lot of people choose not to tape the ceiling off at all. They'll just work with a good brush and a steady hand to run their ceiling paint right up to the walls).
After you've taped off the ceilings (if you decide to), take sometime to tape around the ceiling fixtures (or, if you're comfortable doing it--and know what you're doing--remove them). After that, move out all the furniture that you can from the room and lay dropcloths over the floor. Finally, place lightweight plastic drops over all the furniture that couldn't be removed from the room.
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Step Three: Priming
If your ceiling has not been painted before--especially if it's a popcorn, blown-on texture--it should be primed with an oil-based product. If you don't like working with all the smell of an oil-based paint, RepcoLite carries an odorless oil-based primer from Zinsser. This is a great option if you feel you need to prime with oil.
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Step Four: Cutting In
After you've accomplished all of the prep work and have primed your ceiling (if that was necessary), it's time to start the actual painting process. First of all, RepcoLite recommends that you start with the right paint. We suggest our Carefree Flat Ceiling White ceiling paint unless you're painting a bathroom or an area where a shinier finish might be desirable.
Alright, start the ceiling by cutting in around the edge of the room. Pour your ceiling paint into a quart can or a work bucket--something that's smaller than a gallon and easy to carry up a ladder. Click here to see a cool tool for this part of the project--it's a Handy Paint Pail and it's great for cutting in or any kind of brush work).
Anyway, pour some of your celing paint into this smaller container and with a brush, start cutting in around the edge of your ceiling--run the cut-in strip about 2-3 inches from the wall. This is where a good brush will come in handy. You see, it's easier to make a straight line with a long, steady stroke than it is with short, compact ones. And the only way to make long, steady strokes is with a quality brush.
When professional painters cut in around a room, they use a high-end brush, load it up with the right amount of paint and then run their brush along the edge of the ceiling applying and even coat of paint in about 3' - 5' lengths. It may take some practice for you to learn to do this--and it definitely takes a good brush--but once you get accustomed to this method, you'll find that you can cut in a room very quickly--and often without wasting time taping.
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Step 5: Rolling the Paint On
Once you've cut in around the edges of the room, it's finally time to roll on your paint. Use an extension pole on your roller rather than relying on climbing up and down a ladder. With a pole, you'll be able to move faster, you'll get less tired because you won't be walking up and down a ladder constantly, and you'll achieve better results. So get an extension pole and roll your paint onto your ceiling along the shortest length of the room. What I mean is this: if you've got a 12' x 20' room, paint the ceiling running from one end to the other of that 12' length.
Go back and forth across the ceiling in strips generally just the width of one roller and do so as quickly as you can, doing your best to maintain a wet edge. You want that strip that you just painted to still have a nice wet edge when you start the next, slightly overlapping strip. This will eliminate overlap marks and will help insure that, in the end, the project looks great.
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And that's it. Your ceiling may need a second coat, but go ahead and let it dry and see what it looks like before you do that.
