LESLIE: Next up, we have Mike in Michigan who wants to know about ceiling paint.
Mike, what’s your project?
MIKE: Hey, thanks for taking my call, guys. Well, I just finished a project in the kitchen and I’m happy with everything but I’m not happy with the way the ceiling came out paint-wise. You know, is there a difference between wall paint and ceiling paint and which do you recommend?
TOM: Absolutely. Ceiling paint has the anti-gravity additives. Well, it actually does because, Mike, the ceiling paint has a different viscosity than wall paint. It’s actually thicker and designed not to drip. And because it’s thicker, it kind of gels and spreads and spreads out nicer when it’s hanging upside down from the ceiling as opposed to when it’s sort of hanging vertically on the wall.
MIKE: OK.
TOM: And so it really does have an anti-gravity additive, in a way …
LESLIE: True. But you also – there’s a great ceiling paint product that you can get and it comes out pink. You roll it on pink so you know exactly where you’ve been and where not to hit again and as it dries it turns white so you never miss a spot. And it’s a good trick to play on somebody.
MIKE: You know, I’d hate to end up with a pink ceiling (Tom chuckles), so you’re pretty certain it turns to the right color when you’re done.
LESLIE: It really does turn white.
MIKE: OK. Well, I was very frustrated painting my kitchen ceiling and, as a matter of fact, I did it three different times to try to get the waves out.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Oh, no.
MIKE: I’m still not happy with it. But I’ve recently done just a hallway ceiling with ceiling paint and the difference was just phenomenal, so I appreciate your assistance.
TOM: You’re very welcome, Mike. And also, remember that you ought to use a good-quality roller – generally one with a pretty thick nap, like a 1/2-inch nap – and it does a much better job. I find that if you use a pretty thin roller, you get more of those lines.
MIKE: Well, and while I’ve got you, I know the worst part of this job is going to be prepping my ceiling because it needs to have a good cleaning. Any suggestions in that regard?
TOM: Well, does it have any stains; any water stains or anything of that nature?
MIKE: It really doesn’t. It just hasn’t been touched in a while and it just really needs to get a good cleaning before I put primer on it.
TOM: Well, I don’t think you have to clean it that much before the primer. But the primer should do the job, as long as it’s not too dirty. But if you use a primer like a KILZ primer, that will do a great job.
LESLIE: And make sure you vacuum where your walls meet your ceiling if you have any molding or what not just to get rid of any sort of spider webs or things that you just might not see.
MIKE: Good advice. Thank you so much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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