Hello,

I plan to put a flat latex paint (white) over an eggshell finish (off-white). The eggshell has been on the ceiling for 6+ years now. Do I need to prime or sand / scuff the eggshell prior to applying the flat paint?

Thank you,

Tom

 

You can paint with latex over latex. Make sure surface is clean.

 

A quick scuff sand wouldn't hurt. Be sure to use good paint. Because of the harder/slicker surface of the eggshell, coverage will be a little harder with cheaper paints, a quality flat should prevent any problems.

 

Never pass up an oportunity to sand. It will get the chunks that the last guy didn't bother to care about, removes dirt, solves adhesion problems and makes your end product look better. A little extra effort will always pay off.

 

Hi Tom,
Yes to both. Well ,,maybe.

If the ceiling is textured, then sanding isn't practical. If the ceiling is smooth, then sanding is recommended.
My wife and I are redoing a rental we just bought right now that the previous owner had applied a low sheen paint to all the walls and ceilings.
I bought a 1/4 sheet B&D electric sander at, I believe Walmart for around $15.
Using it along with 120 grit paper makes the job a lot quicker.

After a light sanding, we hit the surface with Zinsser's Bullseye water based interior primer. It's the cheaper of the 2 Zinsser water based primers. The more expensive 123 is for interior/exterior use.

While some may view it as overkill, I've had the displeasure of having to remove an entire ceiling where the previous person failed to prepare the surface. A 9X12 ceiling can be scuff sanded in about a half hour. The 9X12 ceiling we had to remove took about 3 days of scraping & sanding and another 2 days of patching.

 

IMO a light scuff sanding is all that's needed when recoating a s urface with the same base/type of paint. I scuff sand with a drywall sanding pole - only takes minutes. While Rich's method will do a better job, it's too much work for me