7 Tips For Painting Your Ceiling in McLean, VA
When you are looking to update the look of your home, one aspect you should consider is the ceiling.
The ceiling is often overlooked as a wall to be painted but it is just as important as the other walls in the room.
Let us now look at and consider seven tips for painting your ceiling in McLean, VA.
1. Make Sure To Set Aside Enough Time To Get It Done
Some people will look at a ceiling painting job and think that it’s something that can easily be done in the course of a few hours.
This would be a bit of a mistake, as you need to take into consideration the time that it takes for your ceiling to dry — after you have applied paint to it, primer, and even when you have just properly cleaned it and it has gotten a bit moist from the cleaning process.
2. You Don’t Need To Paint It White
Though many people will tell you that the standard color to paint your ceiling is white (and this is true) this doesn’t mean its the only color you should paint your ceiling.
If blue is a color that inspires you, for example, you can certainly use it to paint your ceiling.
You can even paint designs on your ceiling — jus think how different the Sistine Chapel must have looked before it got the masterpiece painted up there.
3. You Need To Protect Your Floor
Drips will happen — even with the least drippy of paints, if you will forgive the expression.
That being the case, you should look at the various ways that you can protect your floor — be they simple plastic tarps or heavier cloth drop cloths.
It’s good to be careful when you are dealing with lighter weight ways to protect the floor as they tend to shift as you are walking about and a lighter tarp might move enough to no longer protect the floor, making it a bit more useless.
4. Less Furniture Is Better
The less furniture you have in a room, the better off you are when it comes to painting your ceiling.
This is because you will first and foremost be more likely to have some problem with bumping into the furniture as you maneuver around the room.
Secondly, you will have a greater risk of dripping paint upon the furniture if you leave it in the room — but if it turns out that you absolutely cannot remove it, there is an alternative.
You can do your best to move the furniture to the center of the room or another place it will be out of the way and then cover it with drop cloth.
5. Remove Electrical Outlet And Light Switch Covers
Though it may seem impractical, it’s actually a bit better to remove the outlet and light switch covers before you paint your ceilings.
It will be a time consuming process, yet it will be considerably easier than trying to clean up a mess if it gets on your covers.
It bears mentioning that you should use a little painter’s tape to cover the spaces where those covers were — those can easily come off once you finish painting and are waiting for the last coat to dry or even after it dries.
6. Sand First
The best way you’ll get a good paint job done is to make sure that the surface is as smooth as possible.
One way that you can do this is to sand before you paint the ceiling — and yes, it’s possible to sand the ceiling.
7. Prime First
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that you should prime your ceiling before you paint it.
As mentioned above, a smooth ceiling is better for painting, and paint adheres significantly better than it does to a surface that does not have primer.
Do yourself a favor and prime before you paint.