Designing a Nursery

If you are giving a room in your home a makeover by giving it a fresh coat of paint, you may be uncertain as to how to approach painting the ceiling. If so, make sure you avoid the following mistakes as you prepare the ceiling to keep from having disastrous results.

1.  Saving the Ceiling for Last

If you are dreading having to paint the ceiling, you may decide to do the walls first and save the ceiling for last. However, putting off doing the ceiling until after painting the walls is a mistake that may leave you with more work than is needed.

No matter what tool you use or what special precautions you take to keep the paint from dripping and splattering, you will make a mess when you paint the ceiling. If you have already painted the walls, paint drips will eventually fall on the walls, making it necessary for you to repaint them.

Instead of saving the ceiling for last, cut in the edges and corners of both the ceiling and the walls, then paint the ceiling first. If any paint does splatter on the walls, you will be able to easily remove or paint over it.

2.  Neglecting to Clean the Surface

After deciding it is better to paint the ceiling first, you may be ready to go ahead and start painting to get the task over with. Right before you begin, you may notice a few cobwebs or dust on the ceiling. Because the area is high up enough for no one to really see it, you may decide to simply paint over the dirt without cleaning the ceiling first.

However, if you neglect to clean the surface of the ceiling, the paint will not stick properly to the dirty areas. This will then lead to cracking and peeling sooner than later.

Also, although the ceiling is not within your normal line of sight, the bumps and imperfections caused by painting over cobwebs or dust will impact the overall appearance of the ceiling and the room. Before you paint, either use a broom or vacuum cleaner attachment to remove the dirt to have a smoother surface on which to work.

Avoiding the above mistakes can help keep you from making a mess and ending up with a rough finish when it comes time to paint your ceiling. However, if you have decided that you do not wish to attempt the job yourself, contact a residential painting service to discuss your options for having a professional complete the work for you.