Painting Textured Ceilings

A spray textured ceiling, also referred to as popcorn finish, is tricky business. This is especially true when it comes to painting one. Rolling on paint with a roller is to be avoided with textured and acoustic ceilings because they are very porous. A great deal of paint will be absorbed on the roller and the porosity makes it nearly impossible to achieve even coverage. Also, often times, the entire layer of texture will stick to the roller and come off, leaving an empty strip of drywall.

However, if you do decide to use a roller be sure to use a thick-nap roller to ensure that you get full coverage over the bumps and irregularities in the textured surface. Also, you may want to test out one of the corners of the ceiling with the roller to make sure that the texture does not come off with the roller. On the up side, rolling puts a thicker paint film on the surface, whether textured or flat, and a thicker paint film means more resistance to staining and mildew.

The cheapest and easiest way to paint a textured ceiling is to spray paint it. Most would agree that using a spray machine is faster and provides better coverage. It is recommended that you use a flat latex paint for a flat durable finish. Keep in mind, spray painting your ceiling may be best left to a professional painter, but if you do take it on yourself, make note that it's a messy process and requires a little practice.

If you do decide to hire a professional to paint your textured ceiling, keep in mind that they can usually re-spray the ceilings in an average-sized home in less than a day for a very low cost. Furthermore, it is also possible for them to remove the entire acoustic layer and retexture the ceiling like the walls. Doing so would make your ceilings much easier to maintain, sweep and paint.