To paint a ceiling, clear and protect the room, cut in around the edges with a brush, then roll the ceiling in strips working away from the main window while keeping a wet edge. Most ceilings need two coats of flat matt emulsion.
That’s the short version. Below is how our decorators at PDS Painting Birmingham paint ceilings on real jobs, from the kit we use to the problem ceilings - stained, cracked, textured or freshly plastered - that need sorting before any paint goes on.
Ceiling First or Walls First?
Ceiling first. Painting overhead always produces some spatter and the odd drip, and you want that landing on walls you haven’t painted yet. It also means the wall colour is cut in last, giving you a clean line along the top of the wall where it meets the ceiling.
Tools and Paint for Ceilings
- Dust sheets for the floor and any furniture left in the room
- Masking tape and plastic to cover light fittings, smoke alarms and coving if you’re not painting it
- Sugar soap, a bucket and sponges
- Flexible filler, a filling knife and fine abrasive
- A 9-inch roller frame with a medium-pile sleeve
- An extension pole that fits the roller
- A 2-inch cutting-in brush
- A roller tray or scuttle
- Stable stepladders or a low work platform - never a chair or a stool
For paint, use a flat or ceiling matt emulsion. A low sheen hides the slight dips, joints and imperfections that every ceiling has, and that side light from windows will otherwise pick out. Our guide to paint finishes explained covers why flat matt suits ceilings better than silk.
To work out how much to buy, multiply the length of the room by its width to get the ceiling area, then check the coverage figure on the tin and allow for two coats. Buy a little extra for porous or patched ceilings, which soak up more on the first coat.
How We Paint a Ceiling, Step by Step
- Clear and cover the room. Move furniture out, or into the middle under dust sheets. Turn the power off at the consumer unit before loosening any light fitting, then lower the rose cover or wrap the fitting in a bag and tape.
- Wash dirty ceilings. Kitchen ceilings carry a film of grease and many older ceilings have smoke or nicotine staining. Wash with sugar soap, rinse with clean water and let it dry.
- Fill and sand. Fill hairline cracks and small holes with flexible filler, let it harden, then sand flush and dust off.
- Seal stains. Spot-prime water marks or any stain that might bleed through with a stain-blocking primer.
- Cut in. Brush a band about two to three inches wide around the edges of the ceiling and around fittings. Work in sections so the cut-in is still wet when you roll up to it.
- Roll in strips. Load the roller evenly - roll it up and down the tray’s ribbed slope so it’s full but not dripping. Roll in strips parallel to the main window, starting at the window wall and working away from the light. Overlap each strip while the last one is still wet - keeping a wet edge is what stops lap marks.
- Lay off. Finish each strip with light, unloaded strokes in one direction, without pressing hard.
- Check from a low angle. Crouch down and look along the ceiling towards the window. Thin spots and missed patches show up clearly in that light and are easy to touch in while the paint is still wet.
- Second coat. Apply the second coat once the first has reached its recoat time - see our guide on how long to leave between coats. Roll it in the same direction as the first.
Once you start a coat, finish the whole ceiling before stopping for a break. Stopping halfway leaves a dried edge across the middle of the ceiling, and the join will show however carefully you blend into it later. Keep the windows open a little for airflow, but avoid strong draughts or direct heat that dry the paint before you can keep the edge wet.
Problem Ceilings
Most ceiling problems are visible before you start, and painting over them doesn’t fix them - it hides them for a few weeks at best. Deal with these first.
Water Stains and Smoke Marks
Find and fix the leak before anything else, then give the ceiling time to dry right through. Ordinary emulsion won’t hold back a water mark or smoke staining - it bleeds straight through as a brown or yellow shadow. Seal the area first with the right stain block for water and smoke stains.
Cracked or Newly Plastered Ceilings
Fine hairline cracks can be raked out slightly, filled with flexible filler and sanded. Wide cracks, cracks that keep coming back, or a ceiling that sags or sounds hollow need a plasterer or builder to look at it first - we don’t do plastering, and paint won’t hold a failing ceiling together.
New plaster must be fully dry before painting, and then needs a thinned first coat to seal it. Our guide to the mist coat on new plaster explains how.
Textured and Artex Ceilings
Textured finishes take a thicker-pile roller and a lot more paint than a flat ceiling, and you’ll need to work the paint into the texture. Older textured coatings, especially those applied before 2000, may contain asbestos. Don’t sand, scrape or drill them. Painting over a coating that’s in good condition is generally considered acceptable, but if it’s damaged or you’re unsure, get it tested and follow the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance on textured coatings.
Kitchen and Bathroom Ceilings
Degrease kitchen ceilings thoroughly, or the new paint won’t bond. In bathrooms, use a moisture- and mould-resistant paint and make sure the extractor fan works. Our guide to anti-mould paint for bathrooms explains why ventilation matters more than the paint.
Should You Paint the Ceiling the Same Colour as the Walls?
It can work well. In rooms with low ceilings, a single colour blurs where wall ends and ceiling begins, which can make the room feel taller. It suits cosy rooms such as snugs and bedrooms, and period rooms where a picture rail gives a natural break - paint the ceiling and the wall above the rail together.
White or a very pale ceiling is still the better choice in small, dark rooms or north-facing rooms that need light bounced back down. A bonus of same-colour schemes: cutting in becomes far more forgiving, because there’s no contrasting line to keep straight.
Common Ceiling Painting Mistakes
- Overloading the roller. It spatters and drips onto you, the floor and the walls.
- Letting the cut-in dry before rolling. This causes picture-framing - a darker band around the edge.
- Rolling in random directions. Leaves crossing marks that catch the light.
- Skipping the second coat. One coat looks fine wet and patchy once dry.
- Painting in poor light. Use daylight or a work light so you can see missed areas.
- Working off a chair or stool. Use proper steps or a platform - falls from low heights cause serious injuries.
When to Leave Ceilings to a Decorator
Our interior painting and decorating in Birmingham service is worth calling on for high ceilings and stairwells, which need towers or platforms to reach safely. The same goes for whole-house ceilings, stained or cracked ceilings that need proper preparation, and ceilings that have to look flawless under downlights.
If you’re also thinking about the edges, we can have coving fitted and painted as part of the same job.
Our DBS-checked painters will look at access and condition, and we’ll send a written quote after the visit. Call 0121 752 9229 to arrange it.
Related Guides
- Stain block paint - sealing water, smoke and nicotine marks before painting.
- Mist coats and painting new plaster - preparing fresh plaster for its first paint.
- Paint drying times and coats - how long to wait between coats.
There are more painting and decorating guides covering other rooms and surfaces.
Ceiling Painting Questions
Do you need to cut in before painting a ceiling?
Yes. Brush a band of paint around the edges of the ceiling and around light fittings first, because a roller can't get tight into corners without touching the walls. Then roll the main area while that cut-in band is still wet, so the two blend together. If the brushed edge dries first, you'll see a darker frame around the ceiling.
Which direction should you roll a ceiling?
Roll in strips running parallel to the main window, starting at the window wall and working away from the light. Each strip overlaps the last while it's still wet. Finish each section with light strokes in one direction. Working this way means any slight roller marks run with the light rather than across it, so they're much harder to see.
How many coats does a ceiling need?
Usually two coats of flat matt emulsion, even if the first one looks good while it's wet - the second evens out the colour and sheen. New plaster needs a thinned mist coat first, and stained ceilings need stain block before the topcoats. Our guide on how long paint takes to dry covers recoat times between coats.
Why is my ceiling patchy after painting?
The usual causes are thin coverage, cut-in edges drying before you rolled up to them, uneven roller pressure, or a stain bleeding back through. Light from a window makes it obvious. Most of the time a second full coat, rolled in strips away from the window with a properly loaded roller, sorts it. If a stain is showing, seal it with stain block first.
Can you paint a ceiling with a brush?
You can, but it's slow, tiring and almost always leaves brush marks visible in side light. A roller on an extension pole puts on a more even film far more quickly and lets you work from the floor for much of the room. Keep the brush for cutting in around the edges, light fittings and any coving.
Can you paint over a water-stained ceiling?
Only after the leak has been fixed and the area has dried out completely, which can take a while after a big leak. Then seal the mark with a stain-blocking primer before your emulsion, or the brown tidemark will bleed straight back through. Our guide to stain block explains which type to use.