How to Paint the Ceiling Without Splattering

Written By
Erin Schreiner
Erin Schreiner
Published: Aug 3, 2011
Updated: May 14, 2022
2 minute read

Things You'll Need:

Things You Will Need

  • Ceiling paint
  • Roller
  • Roller tray
  • Painting a ceiling is a task that, without care, can prove quite messy. Because gravity is your enemy as you work to complete this task, you must constantly fight against it. While avoiding splatter while painting your ceiling is certainly not an easy thing to do, it is a goal that you can accomplish if you exercise caution and use your best painting skills. While you should certainly still place drop cloths around your space before you tackle ceiling painting, if you use proper techniques, you will likely keep these cloths relatively clean

    Purchase paint intended for use on the ceiling. While it may seem like the white paint you have left over will get the job done and cover your ceiling effectively, using a generic paint for your ceiling is a sure-fire way to suffer splattering. Ceiling paint is much thicker than generic paint and, as a result, is less likely to splatter, so use this specialized paint from the start if avoiding splatter is your goal.

    Limit the paint on your roller. As home-improvement giant Home Depot reports, the less paint you have on your roller, the less likely you are to experience splatter issues. While keeping your roller relatively dry will require you to make more strokes to cover the ceiling, it will also keep splattering to a minimum.

    Take slow and steady strokes. Don’t allow your haste to finish the distasteful ceiling painting job to lead you to rush your strokes. If you move in slow and steady strokes, you will be less likely to have splattering problems than you would be if you rapidly slather the paint on your surface.

    Apply multiple coats. Instead of attempting to cover the ceiling in one heavy – and almost sure to splatter – coat, use multiple thinner coats as you cover the ceiling. Doing so will make ceiling painting a substantially cleaner process.

    Erin Schreiner

    Erin Schreiner is a freelance writer and teacher who holds a bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University. She has been actively freelancing since 2008. Schreiner previously worked for a London-based freelance firm. Her work…

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