2-car garage with popcorn ceilings. Has anyone else scraped the popcorn off and if so, did you have to apply more texture before painting it? Is flat white the usual color or are there better options for visibility and overall shop atmosphere? My "new" shop has been put on the back burner due to new home repairs so I figure I'm going to plan on doing more to the shop once I get the chance. Thanks in advance for any advice.
Popcorn ceilings and paint
- Thread starter pds0006
- Start date
Ray-CA
Well-known member
I had to remove the popcorn **** from the ceilings in our last home. It was a mess but worth it. And, yes since it was the home, we re-textured the ceilings. In the garage/shop I would just make sure the ceiling was smooth (well taped, nails/screws covered) and then just prime and paint.
Ray
Ray
yeeharacing
New member
- Joined
- May 5, 2010
- Messages
- 1
I've been scraping popcorn paint off my hallway and living room.
Do your self a favor and just rip the sheetrock down and redo it. It's much less hassle. If your into torture though...
I used a heatgun and a Spackle knife to heat the paint till it starts to bubble, then scrape it off with the spackle knife a little at a time. If your lucky it will peel right off the paper on the sheetrock. I have about 80% of my ceiling where it peeled off fine but the rest took the first layer of paper off. Now I have to skim coat everything just so it's flat.
Do your self a favor and just rip the sheetrock down and redo it. It's much less hassle. If your into torture though...
I used a heatgun and a Spackle knife to heat the paint till it starts to bubble, then scrape it off with the spackle knife a little at a time. If your lucky it will peel right off the paper on the sheetrock. I have about 80% of my ceiling where it peeled off fine but the rest took the first layer of paper off. Now I have to skim coat everything just so it's flat.
e-tek
Well-known member
I've had to deal with Popcorn ceiling in several areas. In the home you have to do a LOT of work to have a non-textured ceiling (lots of floating and sanding). We went with a "knock-down" texture after our big reno. It's sprayes up like popcorn, but then it's trowelled to "knock-down" the highspots. Looks classy and modern. Good luck!
I put what my father in law called a "garage finish" on the walls. Just water down some pre-mix drywall mud and roll it on with a 1" nap roller. Let it dry then paint. That's only b/c I'm too lazy (and unskilled) to finish drywall well - especially ceilings. I usually do that for the walls and then stipple the ceiling.
Use a pump up sprayer and lightly spray to soften popcorn. Use a drywall knife, about
any size will do. Take care not to gouge the underlying joint tape and seams, this will
reduce touchup repairs. If previous finish is not satisfactory, skim coat and sand before
painting.
any size will do. Take care not to gouge the underlying joint tape and seams, this will
reduce touchup repairs. If previous finish is not satisfactory, skim coat and sand before
painting.
Zeke
Well-known member
Careful about asbestos. Anything older than 1980 may contain asbestos. Older than late 70's, you can bet on it. Keep it wet, don't breathe it no matter what it is.
I'll leave he proper disposal to you.
I'll leave he proper disposal to you.
Granite Guy
Active member
yep.....liberally spray it with soapy water, then let it set for a few minutes. Scrape off with a stiff scraping tool. WEAR A RESPIRATOR! Make a big mess, then clean it up. I've always textured it afterwards.
kenners
Well-known member
I was having tile put in over a cement floor in a family room just off the garage. Mentioned to the tile guy that I wanted at one time to remove the popcorn ceiling. He said get him a garden hose and a 12" wide putty knife. He would make a quick wide spray with nozzle and the scrape off popcorn with putty knife. Within an hour or so we had ceiling stripped. Then in the following weeks I worked thru 2 or more tubs of mud to smooth out the ceiling. I put a couple coats of primer, then made the mistake of putting gloss paint on ceiling, shows every scratch/imperfection. Ended up getting best finish from a more flat white paint with what looked like a plastic sponge roller. It gave the ceiling a fine texture. I can still see some minor imperfections when the light is just right.
mixxmstrmike
Well-known member
Everyone is providing some great advice. For the ceiling paint, I would recommend going with Home Depot's Ultra Bright White in semi-gloss. It will definitely brighten up the garage. For the walls, however, if you're painting them, I would go with a light gray, semi-gloss again. The light gray will do a lot better job in hiding dirt, whereas the ultra bright white will amplify it.
-Mike
-Mike
1320stang
Well-known member
The cathedral ceiling I scraped looked like knock down texture once we were done. We just rolled it and called it good, looked great 12 feet in the air.
v7guy
Well-known member
I've never had much luck scraping, I've done it, it sucked, then i had to fix a lot. I've also torn down the ceiling and redid it. I prefer to just replace the sheetrock personally.
little d
Well-known member
i just did this for my motherinlaw. like red said, go slow, be carefull, and it will come right off. i didnt wet it down eather, looked like knock down after it was painted.
Wingnut65
Well-known member
Popcorn ceilings were put up for several reasons - 1) because it was just the thing to do back in the 70's and 80's, 2) bacuse the ceiling finisher wasn't talented enough to do a knock-down ceiling texture, or 3) they were trying to cover up a sin of poor ceiling finishing. Since then, people just have not wanted cottage cheese on their ceilings and most are done wiht a light knock-down texture.
Everybody here has been giving great ideas. I'd lean towards the light spray of soapy water over the heat-it-up process. As others noted, removing the texture may leave a poor finish on the ceiling that can either be addressed several ways. First, patch, sand and finish. This would be about a half day job by a drywall finisher or an extended project for an amateur like me. Second would be to put another layer of drywall over the first and have a new smooth ceiling to start from. But that would include removing most of the popcorn so the new ceiling sits level. Third would be to remove the whole ceiling - popcorn, drywall and all - and repalce with new. But remember that removing the whole drywall ceiling means that whatever is above it would come down too - insulation and other attic collectibles... I guess the last choice of buying a house without popcorn is out of the question...
Asbestos and Lead Paint may be a concern if built before 1980 as others mentioned.
Good Luck. Let us know what you decide.
jeff
Everybody here has been giving great ideas. I'd lean towards the light spray of soapy water over the heat-it-up process. As others noted, removing the texture may leave a poor finish on the ceiling that can either be addressed several ways. First, patch, sand and finish. This would be about a half day job by a drywall finisher or an extended project for an amateur like me. Second would be to put another layer of drywall over the first and have a new smooth ceiling to start from. But that would include removing most of the popcorn so the new ceiling sits level. Third would be to remove the whole ceiling - popcorn, drywall and all - and repalce with new. But remember that removing the whole drywall ceiling means that whatever is above it would come down too - insulation and other attic collectibles... I guess the last choice of buying a house without popcorn is out of the question...
Asbestos and Lead Paint may be a concern if built before 1980 as others mentioned.
Good Luck. Let us know what you decide.
jeff
I'm going through my house 1 room at time removing popcorn.
Here's my method:
Spray ceiling with mixture of wallpaper remover and hot water. Dont allow paper to get too wet or you will have a mess. Scrape at a 60 degree angle with 8" drywall knife. Sand ceiling with drywall stick. Fill with drywall compound usually 1 to 2 coats. Sand and paint. Not a terrible job actually. But it does make a terrible mess!
Goodluck!
Here's my method:
Spray ceiling with mixture of wallpaper remover and hot water. Dont allow paper to get too wet or you will have a mess. Scrape at a 60 degree angle with 8" drywall knife. Sand ceiling with drywall stick. Fill with drywall compound usually 1 to 2 coats. Sand and paint. Not a terrible job actually. But it does make a terrible mess!
Goodluck!
I have done it this way. But its alot of work and you will need to float mud.
The best way is to just tear it out. Replace,Tape and texture. Its alot less work in the long run.
tcianci
Well-known member
All you need to do it simply attempt to paint it...it will roll off like it was never even there 
Around the house, I do my own painting, plumbing, repairing and even tiling. When it comes to electrical & acoustic ceilings, I fall back on Clint Eastwood, "a man has to know his limitations". I just finished my garage and between the popcorn, damaged drywall from an old leak and the generally crappy way that condos are built in the first place, I called the pros. The guys I use leave it perfectly smooth, do it in a day and leave the place cleaner than they found it. Just a thought. Here's the result, this is painted in satin so you can see what that looks like.
Mike
Mike
Ramones1234
New member
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2010
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- 2
If it's ever been painted your best to tear it down. If it hasn't been painted it should come off easily with water and a drywall knife. I used a garden sprayer to wet mine down and it came off very easily. I did have to touch up the seems and nail holes a bit but it finished very nicely. A lot less mudding than tearing it down and starting from scratch so if you can avoid that I would but like I said if it has been painted it isn't coming off easily at all.
Thanks for all the great advice, I really appreciate it. I got it all scraped off and yes, you can see tape seams but no more than the rest of the garage. There is also enough of the popcorn left to give it a texture, but subdued enough that I'll consider it part of the space's character. Since I'm basically on a zero timetable doing this between prepping the house for move in on Saturday morning I'm just getting what I can done for now with the assumption that one day I'll come back and do it right (Paint, epoxy, increased electric. For now I'm going to be satisfied with patching the fist sized holes from a meat locker and getting a fresh coat on the walls. That, sadly, is about all I'll have time for at this point.
Zeke
Well-known member
It might be even steven, but the massive disposal and hanging of the ceiling don't hold favor with me.
In another thread it was pointed out that ceilings should be hung first so that the DW on the wall holds up the seam between joists and it doesn't crack. I guess you can install crown molding as someone suggested.
I'll just keep scraping, floating and painting. It's about a 2 day job for 3 men in the average house.
Except that there is now the new EPA lead law and no one in their right mind will go thru the mandates of that law.