Ceiling & Floor Paint

Our experience has shown that using the right tool for the job saves a lot of swearing later on. This specialty Ceiling & Floor Paint is formulated to stick better and reflect less light than what you’d put on your living room walls. Especially in some of the older farmhouses throughout Christian and Greene County, ceilings have a lot of character, or “blemishes” as the missus calls them, that a standard satin wall paint would highlight like a spotlight. We stick to the flat stuff for the rafters so the focus stays on the floor where it belongs.

Flat is the only way to go unless you want your ceiling to look like a shiny topographical map of the Ozarks. We generally suggest a high-quality, flat latex Ceiling Paint because it won’t weigh down the texture or cause it to peel off in wet chunks. The secret isn’t just the paint, though; it’s using a thick, long-nap roller and moving slow so you don’t knock all the “popcorn” onto the carpet. It’s a tedious job, but it’s a whole lot better than scraping that stuff off and starting from scratch.

Prep work is ninety percent of the battle when you’re trying to make a coating stick to a slab. You’ve got to scrub that concrete until it’s clean enough to eat off of, and then hit it with an etcher so the Ceiling & Floor Paint has something to bite into. We’ve seen plenty of folks skip the cleaning and wonder why their floor looks like a peeling sunburn two weeks later. Once it’s dry and etched, apply your first coat thin and even, and give it plenty of time to cure before you start dragging heavy equipment across it.

Cleaning up the oil spots and road salt is the first thing on your list if you want a finish that actually stays put. We’ve found that a good degreaser is your best friend before you even think about opening a can of garage floor paint. Once the floor is bone-dry, apply the coating in small sections, and if you’re feeling fancy, you can sprinkle in some of those decorative flakes to hide the inevitable scuffs. It makes the garage feel less like a dungeon and more like a proper place to tinker on the tractor when the weather turns sour.

For a professional-grade ceiling, the type of paint you choose is just as important as your technique. We recommend using a dedicated ceiling paint that is formulated to be “ultra-flat,” as any sheen will highlight every bump in the drywall. Many people find success with “color-change” paints that go on pink and dry white; this makes it incredibly easy to see exactly where you have already been. Use a “W” or “V” rolling pattern to distribute the paint evenly, then finish with long, light strokes in one direction to level the texture. It’s also vital to wear eye protection and a hat, as fine mist is inevitable when you’re working overhead. This systematic approach eliminates the “patchy” look that often plagues DIY jobs, leaving you with a clean, bright overhead surface.