How to paint a ceiling with water-based paint

Recommendation points

• Why water-based paint
• Preparing the ceiling for painting
• What tools do you need to paint the ceiling
• Stages of work
• The most common problems and how to solve them

Painting with water-based paint is one of the most popular methods for finishing the ceiling. Its advantage is simplicity: a few strokes of the brush, and a neat, beautiful coating is ready. However, in order to achieve such a result, you need to accurately follow the technology. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

Why water-based paint

The composition of water-based paint is an emulsion, the base of which consists of water and polymers undissolved in it. The characteristics of the paint make it one of the most suitable options for interior decoration:

• it does not have an unpleasant odor;
• dries quickly;
• not toxic;
• some formulations are resistant to abrasion – the surfaces painted with them can be washed;
• subject to the application technology retains an attractive appearance for a long time, does not crack or crumble.

There are several types of compositions, differing in the type of polymer. The most popular and widely represented on the market are acrylics – they are universal, and polyvinyl acetate – the cheapest, but they cannot be washed. Silicone ones are perfect for rooms with high humidity (kitchen, bathroom), since they are highly moisture resistant. Also, paints are divided by texture into matte and glossy. The former are more practical and easy to use, and glossy surfaces are easier to wash, but such compositions emphasize minor surface defects..

When buying, you need to give preference to products designed specifically for ceilings: the paint is well applied to the surface and is quite thick, that is, it does not drip or leak. It is easy to calculate the amount of paint required: the consumption rate is indicated on the label. You need to proceed from the calculation that you have to do 3 layers.

Preparing the ceiling for painting

The surface must be prepared for painting: remove the lighting fixtures and clean off the previous decorative coating to the ground. Wash off whitewash, remove wallpaper. Moisten the wallpaper with plenty of water using a roller or spray gun, wait for the wallpaper to soak and walk with a spatula or scraper. Old paint will take longer, although the principle is the same: mechanical cleaning. After that, wash the ceiling, let it dry, level with putty and prime. More details about how to putty walls, we told in the article “How to properly putty walls for painting and wallpaper”, and about the correct priming of the surface: “Primer for walls. Preparing for painting and wallpapering “.

Important! If the ceiling is very dark, be sure to lighten it before painting with an appropriate primer. Otherwise, the base will shine through the paint and even 3 layers will not be enough for the coating to become snow-white. In this case, the paint should be chosen with a high hiding power..

What tools do you need to paint the ceiling

For work, you should prepare:

1. Roller with medium pile. A short pile can leave streaks, while a long pile will pick up a lot of paint. Craftsmen do not recommend using foam or velor rollers.
2. Small flute brush for finishing the ceiling near the junction with the wall.
3. Paint bath with grooved bottom. Do not neglect it. The cuvette, unlike other containers, will help to leave just as much paint as needed on the roller. This will help to achieve an even layer without smudges..
4. Fine sandpaper for grouting.
5. Masking tape for pasting the borders of surfaces that do not require painting.
6. If you do not plan to use a ladder or goats, then you will need a telescopic folding handle for a brush or roller, with which you can reach the ceiling.
7. It is advisable to get a bright portable lamp to track paint transitions on the surface and monitor the uniformity of the applied layers.
8. Water-based paint.

If it is planned to paint the ceiling with colored paint, then the white composition must be diluted with a color intended for water-based mixtures. When mixing, it must be borne in mind that the dried surface will be a couple of tones lighter than liquid paint. The entire volume should be diluted: it is extremely difficult to get the same shade in different portions.

If you use in-store tinting, write down the paint color code. In the event that you need the same shade, it will be enough to purchase the same paint with which the surface was painted earlier and tint it with the same shade. But it should be remembered that if the surface was painted for a long time, then the paint could fade and lose tone. In this case, choosing the same shade will be much more difficult. It may be easier to paint the entire surface..

Stages of work

So, it’s time to start painting. For best results, apply 3 coats to the ceiling.

Step 1. Stir the paint, add water to it, if necessary according to the instructions, stir, pour into a bath. If there is a lot of paint, then you can use an electric drill with a mixer attachment for mixing. This must be done at low speeds so as not to whip the paint into foam. Some paint formulations must be drained. This can be done using a nylon stocking or gauze..

Step 2. Paint over the corners and places near the joints with the walls along the perimeter of the ceiling with a brush. The strip should be as narrow as possible – 7-8 centimeters. Treat other hard-to-reach places behind radiator pipes, around wiring.

Step 3. Apply the first layer with a roller, applying stripes perpendicular to the window, from one wall to another. You need to paint with wide, confident movements, making parallel stripes, with an overlap of several centimeters. You should act quickly without respite and smoke breaks, otherwise the composition will lie unevenly in places of breaks.

Step 4. Wait until the first coat of paint is dry (usually no more than 2 hours).

Step 5. Assess the result. After applying the first layer, it is still difficult to draw conclusions, but you can already see unpainted places.

Step 6. Apply a second coat of paint. Now the stripes should be applied parallel to the window, that is, the paint layers must be alternated in the perpendicular direction. Check the uniformity of the coating with a lamp and carefully touch up the missing areas, if any.

Step 7. Wait until dry and apply 3 layers.

Important! When choosing the direction of staining, one must proceed from the following principles: the last layer must be done, moving towards the window, with strokes along the sunlight, and each layer must be perpendicular to the previous one.

It is this application technique that will make it possible to make an even, clean, uniform ceiling. The last layer is best applied with a new roller..

The most common problems and how to solve them

Despite the seeming simplicity, ceiling painting does not tolerate even the slightest negligence. Most often, ugly spots and stains remain on the surface, which appear especially clearly in bright light. The reasons are:

• poor surface preparation (the ceiling is not leveled, contrasting spots remain);
• non-compliance with painting technology.

In the first case, you will have to leave everything as it is, or rip off the paint to the ground and start over. In the second, you can try to correct the situation: apply another layer of more liquid paint to the entire ceiling, having previously sanded the surface with fine sandpaper. Did not help? We’ll have to redo everything. To prevent this from happening, when painting, you need to pay attention to the following points:

• the composition must be mixed very well, otherwise the tone of the ceiling may be heterogeneous;
• the paint should soak the roller evenly, for which it needs to be dipped and squeezed several times until it completely absorbs the mixture. They need to roll, not spread paint on the ceiling;
• the paint should not be too thick, otherwise streaks may appear;
• no need to evaluate the exact result before drying: a “wet” ceiling looks very different from a dry one;
• the next layer should be applied only after the previous one is completely dry.

Sometimes the paint starts to flake off. This is possible if, when painting, it was too thick, applied in a thick layer, or the ceiling was poorly prepared. It is necessary to remove the exfoliated material, rinse the surface, dry, prime and paint again..