First time painting ceilings - need advice


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Old 03-14-18, 09:36 PM
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First time painting ceilings - need advice

hi.

we didn't notice it until after we purchased our house but it looks like the previous owners did a quick cheap paint job everywhere. they have a very light beige sherwin williams eggshell paint on the walls and ceilings too. we really want to use flat white on the ceilings to give everything a little contrast, plus hide some of the imperfections. plus not be beige = ). I am sure the painters banged this job out ultra fast sine they just rolled up the walls and right across the ceilings.

I have serious OCD and will do something 50 times if I need to. I really would like clean lines between the ceiling and walls. I have watched a ton of how to videos and everyone does the edging by hand. I do not have the skills for that.

1). do some painters tape off the top part of the wall before cutting in the edges?

2). do any of these special tools such as this really work? Paint Edgers & Best Cutting in - Paint Edging Tool | Accubrush

3). Is it alright if we use flat paint on the ceilings in our bathroom? we had this in our old house and there was slight staining/marking from the shower steam buildup after a while but it rubbed off.

anything thing else I should know?

thanks.
 
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Old 03-15-18, 02:44 AM
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#1 - While tape does seem to work for some diyers - I've never taped off the ceiling but rather used a good brush to cut a straight line. Depending on the ceiling texture sometimes it's beneficial to drag the edge of a putty knife along the ceiling's edge to give you a straighter line to cut to.

#2 - I don't know

#3 - It's best to have a latex enamel on the ceiling! any sheen is ok. Flat latex will slightly absorb moisture while a latex enamel will repel it.
 
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Old 03-15-18, 06:25 AM
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I am not a painter, just a novice like you, but have done enough of it to strongly encourage you to try cutting in a room the way that Mark recommended; a good brush and no tape. Give yourself room to work, i.e. get the furniture out of the way first, have a clear path for your ladder, etc., then take your time, use a good quality brush, keep the tip wet, and it's really a lot easier and less time consuming than you might imagine. I always look at a room as a whole before I start, figuring which way around it I will go, looking for any potential obstacles, etc., and one thing I will sometimes do at that point, if there is maybe a tight corner to work inside of, a fireplace, stairway, or other unique feature is to set my ladder in place and do a dry run with the brush, just work it through the area, no paint, to make sure that I have a plan before I start dribbling paint where I don't want it.
 
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Old 03-15-18, 06:47 AM
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The first and highest recommendation I can give is to use a REALLY good ceiling paint.

There are probably a few but the one I always use is Pratt Lambert Skylight paint, I sweat that stuff is flawless and every ceiling I have used it on was perfect.

Trimming is easy, Sure Line paint trimmer, with just a little practice it provides a razor sharp even line. The advise I give is to move the pad down away from the built in stops 1/8" and tape in place. This keeps the paint away from the corner and provides that sharp line.

Flat paints in bathrooms are not robust, all the steam and moisture collect on the surface and if you ever attempt to try to clean or wipe down it's toast.

Lastly, use good paints, anything at a big box store is krap and should only be used in the garage. As noted PL is the best paint I have every used and at close to $50 a gallon is expensive but if you want perfection that's what you have to do!
 
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Old 03-15-18, 08:52 AM
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Not a ton of places selling Pratt paint around here. I was just gonna go to Sherwin Williams and get the best ceiling paint they had.

Marksr- Just want to make sure I understand, I can purchase a flat white pain but just make sure it is an enamel latex and not just latex correct? I have never heard of that before.

Also, for the putty knife, are you saying drag the knife along the corner first to straighten up the edge, or drag it along with the brush to act as a barrier?

I suppose this will come out better than I expect if I take the time to prep everything. Even doing a dry run is good a idea. Even the best painters we have had always do something to irritate me. I always find little micro specks of paint on everything because they never cover stuff up. And not taking wall plates off etc drives me nuts. thanks, everyone
 
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Old 03-15-18, 03:05 PM
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Latex enamel comes in satin/eggshell, semi-gloss and gloss. Given a choice I use satin latex enamel on bath rm ceilings.
for the putty knife, are you saying drag the knife along the corner first to straighten up the edge,
Yep
 
 

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