painting the sheet rock ceiling

[Mainiac Mat]

preface: I did do a search for "ceiling paint" and got a ton of unrelated hits.

I'll be hanging the rock and finishing my new garage ceiling myself... I've done sheet rock myself before and I'll just say that you can tell I don't do this for a living.

At work we've converted wood framed warehouses to manufacturing space and the contractor quoted and did the job taped with one coat of mud (minimum code requirement). But even though this isn't a "finished ceiling" they actually look pretty darn good.

I think the key is that they spray painted a really heavy flat white paint that went on thick and covered up much of the imperfections.

Any recommendations for such a paint? And an affordable sprayer that can put it on?

 

[Cypress]

I just had a guy paint my garage (and ceiling) and he used a Sherwin Williams Builders Solution paint. It doesn't require a primer and it turned out great. 2 coats.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

I had a drywall contractor that would spray the ceilings with the same machine that they would do "popcorn" ceilings- just no polystyrene beads. it wasn't a fairly thick mix (like if you were doing a "knockdown" finish), but they would let it start to set and go back over it with 24" knives. Sanding was basically non existent.

I remember Glidden used to make a paint that was like pudding. And I've heard of mixing drywall compound with paint and using a 3/4"+ roller to apply.

 

[nadogail]

Long poles and rollers will knock out a ceiling.

 

[Augus7us]

I just looked up drywall finishes the other day, I'm finishing my shop now. I was reading an article on drywall finishing standards by USG and it mentioned a product you could spray instead of skim coating to achieve a level 5 finish. I bet that is what you are talking about.

No idea what it was and I don't have the article anymore, though you could probably find it easy enough. But my thought is that whatever it is, its going to cost a lot more than buying some extra mud and just finishing it properly.

However, as someone who has never finished taping and mudding drywall and is currently finishing 2000 sq ft right now... My recommendation is go with metal ribbed panels and forget the finishing and painting steps. I think one 10' sheet of firecode sheetrock is like 70lbs. Those metal panels are the same size and I doubt weight even 5lbs.

 

[DuluthMachineWorks]

I used the Behr ultra ceiling paint from Home Depot, but on with a 3/8 nap roller. Went on nice and thick, and after two coats, the ceiling looks nice and flat. I’m sure you could spray it, but I can’t hardly tell a difference between my rolled garage ceiling and the sprayed interior ceiling.

Don’t get the Glidden ceiling paint- it’s almost a gray tone instead of a pure white, and the coverage was awful. I painted about half my ceiling with it before I realized and I ended up having to paint over it with the Behr.


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[mobetta]

its a garage.
do your best job on hanging and taping. scrape it down and do a fairly tite coat on all your seams. scrape it down and prime it with a drywall primer and get some flat paint on it.

get back to those other projects taht you have a garage for!!

 

[TLCObsession]

1 good coat of a PVA primer and 1 -2 coats of a eggshell (1 level below semi-gloss) . Buy the HF sprayer for $165 on sale and you will be done in no time.

I am assuming it is more than a 24 x 24 garage. Otherwise use rollers.

Don't texture and don't use flat in a garage. A little bit of a sheen reflects a little more light but is WAY easier to clean if you make sawdust or smoke (from welding).

 

[no704]

Buy, new or used, hoist to hang the drywall! Sell it when job is done.

 

[Glemon]

Agree with Mobetta, I did some drywall in my garage, even though I had no intention of finishing to a high level I spent way to much time on it, get a big wide blade and go over the seems a couple times with it, pressing hard to minimize any high spots or sanding, patch up the screw holes, paint it, call it good.

If your goal is perfection, everytime you look at it you will see the flaws, if you set the goal as slap it up and get it done you look and say, hey not too bad considering the effort.

 

[yeldogt]

Have you inquired with the contractor to see if they do small jobs or the guys do side jobs?

IMO -- if you want nice drywall ... hire a pro. In fact, over the years when I have priced things out the cost often is less than expected. The pros knock this stuff out with great results in hours -- homeowners kill themselves over many knights and weekends. I will add it seems there are less people doing side jobs in all the trades ... years ago it was so common the drywall companies around me would actually set up side jobs too small for them ... just for the guys.

There is a spray "level 5" product ..... in fact -- I'm going to use it for the first time on my current project because I can't get anyone to do a real level 5 skim coat. That product needs a level 4 ... my guess is there is a commercial type product to achieve what the OP speaks.

With more and more spray work -- crews are getting better and where these products would have too high a learning curve for many years ago .. they are getting more widespread use.