painting ceiling

[kateaw]

Hi,

We have just had our ceiling redone, where they did a suspended ceiling to hide old popcorn texture so we know have the gyprock and skim plaster.

We want to paint it but are new to all of this!

A few questions, how long do we have to wait for the plaster to dry before painting.

What layers do we need to use with painting (seal, prime, paint the colour we want x2 ?)

We aren't too worried about getting it done in a rush but are worried about the bathroom being unsealed/primed as we are using the bathroom and showering in it.

We also have some gaps where there is some wood that used to be part of an old pelmet. Is there a putty/plaster/sealer that would be good to use to make it all a bit cleaner? Gaps are less than 1cm. See image below

Lastly, we've had some debate in the family about painting with a roller vs using a paint sprayer. Any thoughts?

It's a small unit, we are focusing on the ceiling at the moment but do want to patch up the walls and repaint them but they're a bit textured (I'm assuming plaster over double brick so it's got lots of little small bumps).

Any help will be hugely appreciated!

(The image is a bit orange because of my lamp, I promise it's your normal gyprock colour in daylight!)

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @kateaw,

Thank you for your question about painting your ceiling.

The plasterers have done a nice tidy job that I'm sure will look fantastic once painted. I can see that the plaster has already been sanded which means the plaster is already dry enough to proceed. 

The only thing you should do to the plaster before proceeding, which may sound a bit strange, is sweeping with a soft-bristled broom, or preferably, vacuuming it. This is because plaster dust is incredibly fine, and it will cling to any surface it comes in contact with. Sweeping or vacuuming the plaster joins will remove this fine dust which can affect your paint's adhesion and lower the quality of the finish. The plasterer looks like they've done an excellent job so I wouldn't be surprised if they've already done this, but it's a simple check you can make to ensure you get the best possible outcome.

There are pros and cons to both rolling and spraying your ceilings, but my personal preference and what I would recommend for you is rolling. 

I have worked on projects where painters have used sprayers which gave a great finish with reduced application time, but they had apprentices come in early to cover and tape everything off to protect from overspray before painting. They also used high-end bucket-fed sprayers such as this Wagner Control Pro 250m (HEA) Airless Paint Sprayer which allowed them to mix their paint in much larger batches than a smaller paint sprayer would. The time it took to spray the ceiling was reduced, but the preparation time was much higher than you would get with a roller.

The choice is yours, but my suggestion would be to use a high-quality brush such as this Monarch 63mm Cutting Brush to cut in the edges, then use a wider roller with a pole such as this UNi-PRO 270mm Roller on a Pole to coat the ceiling. 

You can then lay down drop sheets, tape off any fixtures such as the light bulb and generally prepare yourself for the painting process. 

Start by applying a coat of Dulux 1Step Prep Primer, Sealer & Undercoat and allow to dry for 2 hours.

After two hours, apply two coats of ceiling paint, waiting two hours between the first and second coat. My suggestion for your paint is this Dulux Ceiling White Paint.

For each layer, make sure to lay off the paint to get an even coating. Apply the paint to the ceiling, then with minimal pressure, roll in smooth, single strokes in one direction to even out the paint. 

For some further advice on the painting process, check out How To Paint a Ceiling.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[kateaw]

Hi Jacob, thank you so much for all of this. That's very helpful!

What about a putty or something to fill in the small gaps before we seal and paint?