6 Expert Tips for Painting Your Ceiling in St. Louis, MO

When people think about painting or repainting a room in their home or apartment, they almost always think about the four walls that are most commonly seen — but there is a fifth wall that is just as important but gets a lot less attention except for when people happen to be looking up.

This is of course the fifth wall, the wall that is sometimes referred to as the invisible wall due to the lack of attention that it gets, but it is most commonly referred to by a more traditional name which is to say the ceiling.

This fifth wall also needs to get painted on occasion, and with the right advice you can go from having an okay ceiling to one that is just about fantastic.

You want to make sure to go about doing it right because when done well, painting your ceiling can add a bit of excitement to the room that might not have been there otherwise.

That being the case, here are six expert tips for painting your ceiling in St. Louis, MO.

1. Remove Everything You Can Remove, Furniture Included

A person might walk into a ceiling painting situation thinking that there will be no problems — what could possibly go wrong when you’re just painting the ceiling?

The first thing you’re going to need to realize is that whenever you’re painting any surface, there are going to be drips — both small and large — that occur both during the painting process as well as when the painting is done.

Since there will be drips, you will want to take as many measures as possible to protect everything that can possibly be affected by the drips and the first thing you should consider doing is to remove as many things from the room where the ceiling is going to be painted as possible.

This includes the furniture, which does seem like a rather arduous process, but ultimately is worth it in terms of not possibly getting any paint on them as well as having more space to operate.

If there is furniture in the room that for logistical purposes absolutely cannot be removed, be it because it is just too heavy or there is really no place to relocate said furniture, you can move it as close to the center of the room as possible and then protect it using a heavy cloth drop cloth as this will shield it from paint drippings.

2. The Roller Brush Is Best

When it comes to painting your ceiling, there are few things that are better, tool wise, than a roller brush.

The roller brush covers the most area in the shortest amount of time, and honestly who wants to spend more time painting their ceiling than they absolutely have to?

One might think that a wide enough brush would do a similarly good job but you’re really not going to find anything that will do what a roller brush will do for you.

3. Two Coats Of Paint; Not Just One

There are people who might want to tell you that you’re not going to need more than one coat of paint for your ceiling — this is quite incorrect.

For painting your ceiling you will need a minimum of two coats of paint and depending on how the ceiling looks after the second coat dries — for you will need to wait for each coat to dry prior to applying the following coat — it is entirely possible, though not probable, that you might find yourself applying a third coat.

4. A Ladder Will Be Better Than Scaffolding

For some reason people get it in their mind that the only way they are possibly going to properly paint their ceiling is if they use scaffolding but nothing could be further from the reality of the ceiling painting situation.

In many cases all you will need is a ladder that will be tall enough that you will be a couple of steps away from the top and still be able to comfortably reach the ceiling from where you are — you do not want to be on the top two steps for the purpose of safety.

5. Extension Poles Should Be As Short As Possible

It might seem that if you are going to go out and get an extension pole for your paint roller, it doesn’t matter how long it is as long as it reaches your ceiling.

This is not so, for the longer the extension pole is that is not actually used when you are painting the ceiling, the heavier the base ultimately will be and the more difficult it will be for you to paint the ceiling.

Do yourself a favor and figure out how long of an extension pole you will need prior to getting one.

6.Get The Right Primer For The Job

Prior to painting the ceiling you will of course need to apply a primer and there are many primers out there that serve different functions.

If there are stains on your ceiling, for example, you will want to use a primer that blocks those stains, for example a white shellac primer that effectively will block stains.

The more appropriate your primer, the easier of a job you will have when you finally paint the ceiling.

At Selah Painting, we help you choose the best type of paint and color for your project at no extra cost.

We also take the proper steps to ensure that your interior lasts as long as possible.

There are unique steps and processes that we take, which most other painting contractors don’t want to take the time to perform. 

We would love the opportunity to be your go-to interior painter in St. Louis, MO. Call us at 314-582-5272 to book a FREE estimate, and let us help you enhance the interior of your home so you can focus on other things.

Related: Hiring a Painting Contractor in St. Louis, MO? Avoid These 5 Mistakes
Interior Painting St. Louis: 5 Things to Consider When Choosing Paint
How To Prepare Your House For Interior Painting In St. Louis, MO