# Ceiling paint



## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

So with painting, Its a mixed bag for me. I will primarily do the site carpentry and then sub to a painter, occasionally the home owner or me 

My lines are clean and neat, no drips or roller marks but ......
Once in a while when I do a ceiling a have a problem. Not sure if it's my eyes or what but I will feel like I'm not getting even coverage and over do it....with build up.

What's the deal? This week I used BM kitchen and bath satin on new primed rock and you can see in certain light.... different sheens. I use a good 1/2" semi smooth sleeve.

Anytime I use a semi smooth roller I'm disappointed.


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## Ohio painter (Dec 4, 2011)

Are you putting two coats over the primer? Generally speaking i use 3/8" rollers on smooth surfaces.


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

I have not top coated/second coated yet.


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## Ohio painter (Dec 4, 2011)

Get the second coat on and re-evaluate. I would suggest you aim for 300 - 350 sq ft coverage for a gallon of paint. If you are getting more square footage out of a gallon then you are spreading it too thin, could be your problem. 
If you are spreading it about right then i would think about quality of your paint, I don't use BM. I avoid ceiling paints.


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

Customer has ultra flat in the neighboring room and is requesting that. Thoughts???


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## Ohio painter (Dec 4, 2011)

I generally use flat for ceilings unless specified otherwise by customer, which is rare. 

Switching to the ultra flat most likely will help, besides if that is what they want then i would go for it. 

Next job try a different paint and see what results you get, my only choice for flat white ceilings is SW Eminence.


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## Idothat (May 19, 2018)

Painting ceilings with a roller can be a challenge
The problem is the large area and ,the perfect angle to catch glancing light ,that shows any and all imperfections
Like painting anything it is important to keep a wet edge and move fast enough that I doesn't set up on you
Once an area is rolled you can't get back in it ,or it will show
Load your roller often and keep the surface wet
I usually paint a section 4 to 6 feet across half the ceiling then catch up the other half ..and so on until you finish the ceiling
Don't let it dry or it will look like you missed spots


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

Don't know why but I find ceilings easy to do. I would refrain from using "ceiling" paints and if you're not using a true flat you're asking for issues.

Your problem could be the primer their not equal on new drywall.


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## MarkJames (Nov 25, 2012)

Tom M said:


> So with painting, Its a mixed bag for me. I will primarily do the site carpentry and then sub to a painter, occasionally the home owner or me
> 
> My lines are clean and neat, no drips or roller marks but ......
> Once in a while when I do a ceiling a have a problem. Not sure if it's my eyes or what but I will feel like I'm not getting even coverage and over do it....with build up.
> ...


So the problem was with the satin, or in general?

It sounds like you aren't applying the paint in a uniform manner, maybe over rolling between reloading, or applying uneven pressure to roll it out.

The brand of roller could be the issue, too. 

I prefer SW eminence, too, but just did a basement ceiling with lots of repairs in BM dead flat. Turned out great. (I learned that BM Muresco has a touch more sheen, so it might have been more problem..don't know, though.)

Side note: I recently did a repair on a ceiling over kitchen island with open floor plan and backlit by a french door. Worst case scenario for hiding a touch up. The "ceiling paint" they used in that house was entirely SW wall flat in White Duck..sort of a slightly linen color. It looked white (not linen) and terrific. It got me wondering whether that was the way to go for other jobs.


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## Idothat (May 19, 2018)

I like Ben Moore murasco ceiling white ,it is dead flat and rolls nice
It's a little hard to brush ,but it gives superior results


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

If it's hard to brush a ceiling paint I definitely wouldn't be using it. As I said I don't use any paint with "ceiling" printed on it.


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## avenge (Sep 25, 2008)

...


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## Idothat (May 19, 2018)

I agree that most " ceiling paints" are not good
Ben moore's ceiling white is the exception 
I've had outstanding results with it for over 30 years
It's my "go to "paint for white ceilings
No ,don't use satin on ceilings


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## Idothat (May 19, 2018)

Sorry Tom M missed the "satin" in your OP 
Satin,eggshell,etc will almost always require two coats for an even sheen especially when it's brushed and rolled 
Like Ohio Painter said flat is preferable on ceilings if the costumer agrees


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## hdavis (Feb 14, 2012)

The primer is the first place to look. A lot of them don't seal the drywall surface, and makes getting an even sheen trickier.

The easiest way to tell what you're getting for thickness is listen to the sound of the roller as you roll. As you get too thin, it will start sizzling. There is a right level of sizzle, if you don't hear any, it's too thick for sure.

Be very consistent in how you load, and roll it out. If you do all tht the exact same way, you're gettung the exact same film. 

With fast drying paints, if you don't get it applied right the first time, you usually cause more problems when ti try to correct those.

Also, if you accidentally flip the frame, you can get a diffefent result...


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## Unger.const (Jun 3, 2012)

avenge said:


> ...


........


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## Unger.const (Jun 3, 2012)

Vinylhanger fought the BM brand paint the other day. Would flash over after about 3sq ft and gum up if you went back any to feather anything out.

I had the same problem with behr marquee interior paint. It seemed it fired off to fast either guming up if you bankrolled or brushed anything past a few feet in a moment or two. Seemed to change the sheen some also.


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## Idothat (May 19, 2018)

Unger.const said:


> Vinylhanger fought the BM brand paint the other day. Would flash over after about 3sq ft and gum up if you went back any to feather anything out.
> 
> I had the same problem with behr marquee interior paint. It seemed it fired off to fast either guming up if you bankrolled or brushed anything past a few feet in a moment or two. Seemed to change the sheen some also.


I refuse to use Behr paint -totally useless slop
As for Ben Moore they have good products and not so good products 
Just like everyone else 
Latex paints have gone way down hill in the last decade or so,as far as workability is concerned
When I find a product that works for me,I stick with it
The problem is they keep changing or discontinue the products I like


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## Idothat (May 19, 2018)

Also would say that any product labeled as drywall primer is not to be trusted . Some of that stuff is worse than useless


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## Tom M (Jan 3, 2007)

I used BM Super Spec primer, it look good but does suck in. My painter likes to use GARDZ for his priming It occurred to me I should of too....it seals well


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