How to Paint Popcorn Ceilings

The majority of homes built in the later part of the 20th century feature what is commonly referred to as ‘Popcorn’ textured ceilings, or cottage cheese ceiling. This is a stucco spray-on ceiling. This ceiling finish is particularly popular in residential bedrooms and hallways for it’s luminosity and favorable acoustics. As with any highly textured surface, re-painting can be a bit of a pain. Using a hand roller and only painting one direction can leave spots of your old paint color showing through. In this post we’re going to show you how the professionals at Peak Pro Painting paint popcorn ceilings.

Hand roller vs. Paint Sprayer

Popcorn ceilings can be painted, but it’s not as easy as painting any other textured ceiling such as orange peel texture or knock down ceilings. In our professional opinion, in order to guarantee cohesive coverage when you paint popcorn ceilings it’s best to use a paint sprayer. Paint sprayers ensure a consistent paint finish, where hand rollers are bound to leave spots of old paint showing through.

Prep the room for painting

If you’re only painting the ceilings, you’re going to want to start by masking off your walls with 6 ft masking plastic before you spray the ceilings. If you’re painting the walls as well there is no need to mask them off. Paint your ceiling first, then return in a day when the paint is dry, mask of your ceilings and paint your walls.

Did You Know?

Popcorn ceilings were originally made with asbestos. When asbestos was banned in 1978 popcorn ceilings lost much of their popularity. Popcorn ceilings installed after 1980 derive their texture from paper-based material or styrofoam.

If you are looking for a Front Range painting company in Colorado or Austin Texas, Peak Pro will take the DIY painting project off your hands and give you the professional paint look. Request a quote here!