How difficult to paint a ceiling?

FreeBear

blackstar said: What exact equipment would I need?

Bought a 10l tub of emulsion to do a 3.5x3.5m room. Gave the ceiling three coats ( a mist plus two top coats). Misted all the walls, and gave them a coat. Still have loads left to do more ceilings and walls. 20l is going to last you a very, very long time

I'm getting risk averse, so use a scaffold tower to paint ceilings. Not absolutely essential if you have~2.4m ceilings - You could probably get away with a hop-up if you are tall enough. Others might suggest a roller with a long handle (works for some).

TELLIT01

If the painter says he can do it in half a day, decline his kind offer and find one who knows what they are talking about.

jcb208

I used to do them in one coat by back rolling on site, before any one moans they got what they paid for £1200 for a 3 bed house including woodwork,realistically it needs a thinned coat which you can double roll then one coat thinned 10%,no need to wait 24 hours, on a good day the first coat will dry in quickly on new plaster

Albermarle

Doonhamer said:

blackstar said:

Do you have to water it down 20-40% for the first paint and then and 2 after that? Would I have to leave it to dry for a day and then go again?

What exact equipment would I need? 

I've bought 2 10l bottles of paint. Do you think that's enough?

That doesn't include the paint. I would need to supply it. They said they can do it all one morning. But how? It needs like 3 coats so don't you have to leave it for a few hours between coats.?

Best to leave it 24 hours after the fist watered down "mist" coat, then 4 hours between the next coats. If you don't water down the first coat the paint will not stick properly to fresh plaster and can go powdery and flake off. 

I think leaving it 24 hours is ideal but you can probably get away with half that. 
But even then it is still not possible that the painter can do the whole job in one morning, especially as you should also leave four hours between the main coats as well. 
I thought the quote was a bit cheap, and I think not many decorators would be interested in just doing a ceiling as opposed to a whole room. So sounds a bit dodgy.

I've bought 2 10l bottles of paint. Do you think that's enough?

OP, they are usually referred to as tins of paint ( even though they are often plastic) or tubs for the big sizes.
20L will probably do the whole room with some left over, assuming it is not some super cheap brand.

ChilliBob

If you're going to go for it yourself, a few things to consider. Personally I'd be worried that quote and timescale is too low and too short!

Firstly, is it a bathroom or kitchen? If so, some special considerations. If not...

1. The bare plaster needs to have a mist coat. Skipping this step iscs very bad idea. This is either the ceiling paint watered down (ratio will say on the tub/tin). This will look pants when done but don't worry!

2. You'll then need two top coats of your white paint.

3. Equipment wise, the bare minimum.. Roller with 9" sleeve (medium/short pile), brush, say 1.5", ideally angled for cutting in. Roller tray, paint kettle (tbh you can even use something like a massive yogurt pot, peanut butter tub, flapjack bites tub if you're proper mse!... This assumes you have old clothes, old sfuff to cover sfuff you don't want paint on etc. A roller pole would make things *much* easier.

Look on YouTube for technique. 

Happy to give more info of needed. I will say thougu that I find it one of the most physically demanding decorating tasks and not overly rewarding! 

Bigphil1474

It's a fairly easy DIY job, and definitely something worth paying for if you can afford it. I'm too tight to pay for painting so have always done my own. As above, mist coat first then probably 2 or maybe 3 coats afterwards. 

Depends how risk averse you are. I painted my old kitchen ceiling by moving the kitchen table around and standing on that. Not H&S compliant, but there are no rules laws when you do DIY, and it is a very sturdy table. I had a roller kit, just bought new rollers for it, and a decent paint brush for cutting in where the walls meet the ceiling. I used a paint tray and an empty margarine tub. A stepladder can be used no problem, did my other rooms off a step ladder - handy for the paint tray if you can slide it onto the top step. I've never used a scaffold tower. I did try a long reach roller once, but I found it to be more exhausting, and definitely more splattery. If you are painting the new plaster on the walls, you may end up needing to do all the walls as well. 20 Litres might be enough, but see how you get on after the first coat.

Grenage

It's a very easy job, with the right equipment.  You just need a stepladder and a brush for cutting in, and a roller with a pole.  It's definitely one of the easier DIY tasks out there. 

Cover anything you don't want painting.  The mist coat will splatter everywhere.

chrisw

Getting it done thoroughly on fresh plaster is the hardest part. Once it's been done it's pretty easy to repaint in the future with a brush for the edges and a roller on a pole. You end up with speckles of paint flying but a big polythene dust sheet is only 58p in Asda.

twopenny

Put on your favourite music, podcasts, audio book. That will keep you sane.

Put masking tape on the wall edges where it joins the ceiling.
Step ladder brush and paint tipped into a smaller bucket and work around the edges about 6" in and work round.
Extension pole and roller , paint tray and table spoon to dish paint into tray.
Roller in paint and even it round on the tray. Put roller on extension pole and paint ceiling with gentle pressure.

I wear a boiler suit and shower cap. Cover floor and everything else.

Scrape paint out of the roller into tray. Soak the roller in a bucket of water then rinse under tap and put out to dry.
Or get several cheap rollers and chuck them.

Shower after and check your face in a magnifying mirror. You will have paint.

I'd give it 12 hrs to dry between each coat.  It's going to be a long haul so worth getting it right. Future times will be easier.

Repeat.

I'm ancient with a duff leg and I do my own. Worth YouTubeing it.

daveyjp

Also ensure you paint towards or away from the window with strongest daylight.  Paint at 90 degrees to the window and you will see the stripes between roller widths,