Help! We have recently removed the popcorn texture from our kitchen ceiling and now that we are painting it, we can see the roller marks. We used a PVA primer on the sheet rock and then applied one coat of ceiling paint and it looked great. We couldn't decided whether or not we should do two coats of paint so we opted to do so. After the second coat had dried, it looked horrible. So....we started with a third coat. We are doing it late at night, so my husband is only able to do a little at a time and after each section is done, you can see exactly where he started and stopped. What are we doing wrong? We have painted tons of walls and never had this problem. We would love any advice you have.

 

Welcome to the forums

Roller marks are caused by improper rolling procedure and can be exaggerated by cheap roller cover and/or cheap paint. When rolling you should never try to squeeze every last drop of paint out of the roller. Fill the roller with paint ands roll gently letting the roller do the work, when it starts to quit dispensing paint - reload.

Quality covers make for an easier/better job. Use a 1/2"-3/4" nap. Wooster makes good roller covers, main thing is to stay away from economy or bargain basement covers [also called sleeves]

Quality paint covers better and is easier to apply than it s cheap counterpart. Depending on the severity of the roller marks they may need to be sanded or lightly skim coated to prevent them from showing thru the next coat.

Hope this helps.

 

I agree with marksr on all points
The only things I can think to add are to use a quality flat ceiling paint, and try and do the whole thing in one session, so the paint just applied does not dry by the time you do the area next to it ("keeping a wet edge" so to speak)

 

Thanks for all of the info.

It has been suggested to us on a reply that we should sand any overlap so that the next coat of paint will go on evenly. Would putting another coat of primer on at this point replace the need to do this sanding?

Would there be any benefit at all to putting a coat of primer on it?

By the way, we are using lightly tinted American Tradition ceiling paint (recommended by Consumer Reports). Any problem with this?

Thanks in advance.

 

...um, no
That really shouldn't be needed
I mean, it's hard to say w/o actually seeing it, I suppose it could need it
But it would have to be really, really, messed up for you to need that
Unless that advice came from an experienced painter who has laid an eyeball on it, or to whom you have described this problem to (in more detail than you have here) I'd discount that

No, there should be no need for another coat of primer
No
Unless there's something your not telling us, another properly applied coat of quality paint should do it
It's not helping
I'd strongly suggest going to a local paint shop and getting some quality paint and roller sleeves, it'll make a ton of difference

As for CR's paint ratings:
CR, which I respect, support, and subscribe to, does not use pro painters or pro painting criteria for their tests

They may use repeatable Scientific Methods (note caps), but not on what makes good paint

They may even address common DIYer concerns, such as "does it last 15 years?", "Does it look like the chip when I open the cap?", or "Does it dry fast"

Making the paint look like the chip when wet and in the can, or making the paint dry faster or last an unreasonably long time, does not make the paint a better paint
In fact, making the paint do those things makes it fall short in other critical areas
Some of which you are running into right now

No offense to CR or anyone else, but there are other factors that weigh much heavier when actually applying paint
How it dries, how it adheres, how it covers, keeping a wet edge...the list goes on
Those things that make a good paint are not touched by the CR reports

If their were pro painters or pro painting criteria used for the tests the results would be very different