Whether you intend to renovate a new home or look for a way to touch up your space, painting your ceiling is one of the fundamental ways to modify a room’s atmosphere.
If you’re interested in knowing how to brighten up your living space by painting your ceiling with the same remarkability as Elite Painters Brisbane Northside, follow the steps below to know how:
Prepare your equipment
Before painting, you must have purchased the principal painting materials. These include painters tape, painting trays, liners, paint brushes, paint roller frames, paint roller covers, sandpaper, a paint bucket, an extension pole, a ladder, primer, and, most importantly, paint. You may purchase such materials at a large hardware store or your local paint-supply shop.
It is advisable to purchase a flat paint for ceilings, as they have a viscosity lighter than the conventional wall paint. Also, when choosing a color of paint, make sure it complements the walls. When it comes to reaching those tricky ceiling corners and heights, having the right equipment is essential for a successful paint job. One of the best tools to consider is a mobile scaffold.
Mobile scaffolds provide a stable platform that allows you to move around with ease, making it safer and more efficient to paint those hard-to-reach areas. These handy devices come in various sizes and designs, so be sure to choose one that suits the scope of your ceiling project. With the right materials and equipment in hand, you’ll be well-prepared to tackle your ceiling painting project and achieve a flawless finish.
Clear the area
After getting all your materials set, you need to clear out the room you intend to paint. Start by moving furniture to less exposed areas, cover the floors by laying down a drop sheet and shield vulnerable areas with protective clothing (one that can hold droplets of paint without letting them bleed onto the surface of the materials).
Clean the ceiling
Before painting, ensure your target surface is a clean, fresh space to work on. Prepare your ceiling by ridding the corners of cobwebs and dust particles. After that, run a medium-grit sandpaper sponge lightly across the ceiling in a circular motion. Finally, gently rub a damp cloth over the “sanded” areas to clean up leftover dirt particles.
Use painters tape
Apply strips of painters tape to the trim where the ceiling meets the wall. Using painters tape prevents you from accidentally applying paint to the top edges of your wall. Another area to mask with tape is the metallic side of light fixtures; stick the tape’s adhesive side around the fixtures and ensure the upper side is firmly taped to the ceiling to prevent paint from leaking. It’s also important to use an angled brush when painting around such areas to avoid such mishaps.
Use stain-blocking primer
Applying an even coat of primer across your ceiling saves you the stress of using more than one coat of paint. It’s advisable to purchase a primer with stain-blocking properties; this helps hide unsightly stains like smoke marks or water stains from showing through the paint.
To apply primer, glide your paint roller in the primer-filled paint tray and run vertical strokes across the ceiling until the whole area is covered. On average, it takes primers about a half-hour to dry, ensure it’s completely dry before proceeding to the next step.
Coat your tool
If you skipped the third step and were unable to use painters tape, you may use an angled brush to paint areas where the ceiling meets the wall or where light fixtures are present, as this helps give more precision when handling such areas. However, if you applied tape in the areas mentioned above, it is a lot more favorable to use a paint roller:
- Pour about 470mL (approximately two cups) of paint into the paint tray.
- Avoid dunking the roller into the tray. Instead, lightly graze the roller about four times in the tray and ensure the head is completely coated with paint.
Paint the ceiling
It is advisable to get a step ladder if your ceiling extends beyond 8ft. For convenience sake, ensure the painting tray is kept within a reachable distance.
After coating your roller in the paint, simply:
- Set up the ladder under the section you intend to paint.
- Stand about 2 to 3 steps from the top of the ladder.
- After making a vertical strip, run your roller in rapid zigzag lines to spread the paint over the different sections of the ceiling evenly. This technique helps prevent uneven textures and hues from forming on the surface.
- After running the entire ceiling in diagonal strips, cover it up by gliding your roller in vertical strokes while still maintaining even pressure.
If you followed the fifth step and applied primer, you wouldn’t need another coat of paint. However, if you skipped the step, ensure you wait a few minutes to let the paint dry between coats.
Clean up the area
After allowing the paint to dry, remove the strips of tape from the walls and light fixtures, and drop cloth. Ensure you clean up all used materials in hot and soapy water, and you may now rearrange your furniture to your taste.
Conclusion
Painting a ceiling isn’t rocket science, and by following these simple steps, even you can upgrade your room’s character by changing up the ceiling.