# Texture paint for ceiling?



## warnick

My ceiling in my current house has popcorn on the ceilings.  However, I know that popcorn has gone out of style or is out of date.  If I remove the popcorn texture by misting the ceiling and using a putty knife to scrap off the popcorn, can I use a ceiling paint with texture to paint over it?  Has textured paint gone out of style or is it out of date too?

It would be just like regular ceiling paint right?  Or will it collect dust like popcorn ceilings?


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## inspectorD

If you look through  some of the older posts this has been answered many times. 
Popcorn ceilings may contain asbestoes, so I would have it tested first.
After that it is just labor,wet it down, scrape and sand, level out with compound, prime the ceiling, then paint.


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## SPISurfer

Warnick,
Flat is in!  Back east flat ceilings never went out of style.

Yes they have textured paint.  I saw it on clearance at HD.  

Check out:   Removing Popcorn Ceilings, One Nasty Kernal at a Time - The Popcorn Forum
You are not alone in getting this stuff down.  We just finished skim coating the ceilings of our former living room, dinning room, kitchen and laundry room.  It's now a great room.  We opted for flat and to skim coat to blend where we took down the walls.  

We did buy a hopper to through on texture just in case we gave up the good fight.  We tamed the beast and have smooth flat ceilings.  It makes the ceiling seem so much higher.

You don't even need to scrap the popcorn to the bear bone.  In a few bedrooms we left the half crater moons of the scrapped popcorn.  It looks like orange peel.  We put Kilz on it and then semi gloss white paint to reflect the light.  Looks great!

Good luck


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## Nestor_Kelebay

I've never heard or "texture" paint.  I've heard of regular paint and ceiling paint, and I've heard of 5/8 inch nap rollers that you can paint textured ceilings with.  I'm guessing that "textured ceiling paint" is just a thicker paint that doesn't form "drops" at the bottom of each popcorn pop like a normal paint would.

But, people really should know.  There is a reason for the madness of covering ceilings with texture and/or painting ceilings with flat paint.  The reason is that ceilings often have ceiling mounted light fixtures in the middle of the ceiling, or the room will have windows that come within a couple of inches of the ceiling.  Both of these will often result in light striking the ceiling at a sharp angle, and exagerating any little glich or boo boo in the ceiling drywalling.

So, contractors that are building houses will put texture on ceiling or paint them with flat paint to help hide these defects in the drywalling.

That is, flat paint is not "in style", it's practical from the contractor's point of view because it reduces the number of complaints and call-backs from the buyers of new homes because no one is going to complain about a problem they can't see.

Flat paint is less practical for the home owner because the rougher the paint the more difficult it is to clean.


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## SPISurfer

Nestor:
You are right.  People paint with flat paint and texture the ceilings and walls to hide the boo boos.  

It was a beast  skim coating our ceiling to make it flat, nice, glossy and to reflect any light that beams in from the windows.

The textured paint I saw looked like it might have been a primer with sand in it.  I can't fully recall because I didn't use it.  I only noticed it because it was on sale.  Lowes has:

Valspar Smooth Texture Interior Paint | Valspar

We are in the land of texture.  Most of the southwest has texture even in the high end homes.

I suggest a flat finish for the ceiling and walls for a modern look.  However, depending upon where the house is located people might expect California knockoff, orange peel etc...  If the house is Mediteranean or Spanish style a Monterrey texture might be a better choice.


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## Nestor_Kelebay

Flat walls and ceilings with a medium gloss paint like eggshell or satin are the most practical from a cleaning and maintenance standpoint.


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## DaveyDIY

I knocked off the granules & just painted the ceiling
So it's now a light texture - came out nice

If you get it too wet the base of the texture will come off too
That makes it much harder 
You then need to blend a texture in or scrape everything down


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## Nestor_Kelebay

warnick said:


> If I remove the popcorn texture by misting the ceiling and using a putty knife to scrap off the popcorn, can I use a ceiling paint with texture to paint over it?



I'd be very reluctant to use a putty knife to scrape off texture.  I'd be concerned that you're likely to dig into the underlying drywall with that putty knife,and damage it in the process, especially if it's wet from misting water all over the place.

If it were me, I would use a paint scraper with one of those tungsten carbide blades to scrape the texture off the drywall.

That's cuz those tungsten carbide blades are hard and sharp enough to do some serious scraping, but they're not quite sharp enough to cut into drywall paper unintentionally.  So, me thinks you could do a better job faster and easier by using a tungsten carbide paint scraper rather than a putty knife.

Try both and see which one works better for you.  Using a better tool on a big job can make a big difference in both time and effort.


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## inspectorD

My guy uses a puttyknife with the edges at the ends rounded over. Looks like a flat spoon like spatula. He claims it works the best for ceilings with stuff on em. He also mists the ceiling as he goes, not soaking it, just loosening it. Like Nestor suggested, try everything and tell us what worked for you.


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## DaveyDIY

It's also my understanding that the older stuff had asbestos in it?


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## Nestor_Kelebay

DaveyDIY said:


> It's also my understanding that the older stuff had asbestos in it?



Asbestos has been used in everything from plaster to toothpaste.

Did you know that asbestos is still being used in automotive brake pads and shoes?  It's true.  Years ago they banned asbestos in most products, but there was a baby squabble between the various government departments, all of which have some jurisdiction on what gets put into cars that drive on public highways, and the spat hasn't been resolved, so any legislation concerning the use of asbestos in automotive brake shoes has been in limbo since the 1980's.  GM used asbestos in the brake shoes of their new Chevrolet Cavaliers and Pontiac Sunbirds up to as recently as 2002.  Most American brake shoe manufacturers have stopped using asbestos in their brakes shoes, but the offshore manufacturers in China, Taiwan and Malaysia still use it in their brake shoes, including those that they export to North America.

Asbestos in Automobiles | Mesothelioma & Other Health Risks

Did you know that the airborne asbestos fiber content in the State parks around San Fransisco has been measured to be fifty (50) times higher than would be allowed in a workplace without the workers having to wear special dust masks to protect them from asbestos fibers.

Asbestos is one of the most abundant minerals in the Earth's crust and there are places on this Earth where there are large outcroppings of serpentine rock right at the surface.  This is both the State Rock of California, and the rock with the highest naturally occuring asbestos fiber content.  Essentially all of California has asbestos bearing rock right at the surface.  It was these rocks that were crushed to make the gravel roads through the state parks in California, and when cars drove over those roads the rocks would grind against each other under the weight of the tires, releasing huge clouds of dust full of asbestos fibers.  California went from allowing up to 50% of this rock in the gravel used for roads, to 5 percent, and then down to 0.1 percent as the air quality measurements were taken.

This web page:

California Mesothelioma, Asbestos Cancer, & Asbestos Exposure Risks

relates the results of studies done by the California EPA into asbestos exposure in the very affluent "El Dorado Hills" area in El Dorado County in California which was built right on top of a large naturally occuring asbestos deposit:

"In February 2002, during the constructions of two new soccer fields at the community's Oak Ridge High School, veins of minerals bearing asbestos were discovered. When a citizen petitioned the EPA to test for asbestos, the EPA decided to assess the threat of NOA (Naturally Occuring Asbestos) in the area - regardless of strong opposition from some civic leaders in El Dorado Hills. In October 2004, donning protective white jumpsuits and safety respirators, EPA agents played in parks as local children would, tossing balls, kicking soccer balls around, biking and running - all the while taking air samples. More than 450 air samples were taken throughout the community, and in May 2005 the EPA released its findings. Almost every one of the samples contained asbestos fibers. Oddly enough, the EPA didn't feel it necessary to detail the results, as the report does not specify the toxicity level of samples, nor does it clearly quantify the potential health risks to residents. Instead, the report simply states that test results and exposure levels are "of concern."

That web page goes on to talk about one of the large nature preserves in California that just happens to be located in one of the largest naturally occuring asbestos deposits in the world:

"Another location of EPA focus in California is the Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA), an enormous and extremely popular area of recreational land. Geologists are not surprised by the EPA's concern for the area, as CCMA is located on one of the world's largest naturally occurring asbestos deposits. Each year, thousands of visitors enjoy CCMA's scenic landscape, rugged terrain, barren slopes, bald ridges, and unique ecology. The 70,000-acre area encompasses a 30,000-acre deposit of serpentine rock, and holds a rich history in the mining industry. In September 2004, the EPA began the first of four sampling events at CCMA. 

Sporting protective clothing, safety respirators, and air monitoring equipment, crews of federal contractors and the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Strike Team took air samples while riding ATVs and dirt bikes, hiking, driving SUVs, pitching tents, and other common activities guests enjoy at CCMA. When compared to health standards, test results revealed recreational users of the management area are exposed to "very high" levels of asbestos. The EPA's website states samples taken in November 2004 and February 2005 are currently being analyzed, and that a final report will be released after the final sampling event (which was scheduled for July 2006). Though 2008 has arrived, no final report or updated information has been made available by the EPA."

It would be funny to think of EPA officials playing with a frisbee in city parks and hiking along mountain trails, all while wearing moon suits to protect them from the asbestos in the air if it weren't also so $%&#ing scary.

The bottom line here is that very many of us live in areas where there are outcrops of naturally occuring asbestos bearing rock and we're exposed to high levels of the stuff every time we go outside.  It affects some of us more than others, and there's no way of telling who is most susceptible to contracting mesothelioma from exposure to airborne asbestos fibers.

People who live in the area of the Great Lakes are also exposed to asbestos in the ground, which is carried into the rivers and then into the lakes.  Residents of Duluth, Minnesota, which gets it's water from Lake Michigan (I think) swallow 7,000 asbestos fibers in every glass of tap water they drink.  Perhaps it's a good thing that we're not aware of any health effects of swallowing asbestos fibers... yet.


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## HouseSurgeon

You can scrape the old stuff off but not down to the drywall. That would seem to be a pan in the arse. Then skim coat it. It would need three coats in my experience. If you want to add texture to it you just add sand to the paint. Sand sold separately. Made just for paint.


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## Tom Witcomb

If the popcorn does not have too many coats of paint you should be able to get it all off the ceiling no problem..if this is the case then I would keep it flat.just patch any boo-boos , prime and paint.
If it has too much paint then you will not get if all off..then it would be best to get as much off as you can then skim it and do a "skip trowel" texture {this is "high end" finish for Florida}..this will be much better than any texture paint..Just my 2 cents

Tom

www.sarasotahomerepair.net


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