ceiling preparation

[spelbound]

You'll have to forgive my ignorance but I've never painted a ceiling in my life, but having moved into our first owned home I am trying to save money by doing most stuff myself (and learning as I go).

I bought decent draper wallpaper scrapers and have managed to get the ceiling free of even the tiniest bit of old paper. However, I'm now unsure of whether I need to wash it in sugar soap or not. I have one relative telling me I do and another telling me to just paint a layer of 4-1 pva-water mix.

Our intention is to just paint the ceiling so what should I do?

Second question, should I prime it and what with?

Last question, can you recommend a good quality ceiling paint?

 

[vibrobullit407]

I would opt for sanding then priming with zinsser gardz. Do not use PVA, it is not designed to be used as a paint primer! After the gardz just use your preferred top coats. Try and stick to a good quality trade paint for this, there is an endless choice!

You could just wash down with plenty of water and if the ceiling is bare plaster prime using a thinned down matt emulsion. Can be a bit messy and time consuming though!

 

[RMS]

Forget the zinsser as suggested. This is an unnecessary expense.

Wash down with sugar soap or water. Do not use pva. Then apply a watered down first coat of Matt emulsion, then your ready to apply two coats of finish coat.

 

[vibrobullit407]

Wash down with sugar soap or water. Do not use pva. Then apply a watered down first coat of Matt emulsion, then your ready to apply two coats of finish coat.

If it's bare plaster then a thinned emulsion is recommended. If the ceiling has been painted previously then you do not need to apply a thinned emulsion as it would not be priming anything as the ceiling has already been painted!

As with the gardz not being recommended I personally would use it and it's only around £25 for 5L and saves a lot of work and mess. With washing the ceiling you will have to remove all remnants of the paste as it will discolour subsequent layers of emulsion. Best way to wash down is wet the ceiling then use a wide bladed scraper to remove the majority of the paste. This means less washing with a cloth/sponge. I tend not to use sugar soap and just use warm water. At the end of the day you can wash the ceiling it's just a case of which method you prefer, both are valid opinions!

 

[RMS]

The ceiling could be washed down within an hour. At £25 that's a good saving. Like I say gardz is not required in this instance and is just a waste of money.

The op will be able to establish if the ceiling is bare plaster and can use a thinned coat of matt emulsion if required.

 

[vibrobullit407]

The ceiling could be washed down within an hour. At £25 that's a good saving. Like I say gardz is not required in this instance and is just a waste of money.

The op will be able to establish if the ceiling is bare plaster and can use a thinned coat of matt emulsion if required.

Let the op make up their own mind on the advice given. That is the point of this forum, it's not for ego massaging!

I'm not getting involved in one of your pointless arguments so happy hunting!

Spelbound
Just use the method that best suits your needs. Both are valid options.
Good luck

 

[RMS]

Calm down.

It's just a debate. This is a forum.

Don't take it personally.

 

[joe-90]

It's not easy to wash all the paste off so I'd go with the Gardz - save time and stop it cracking up. Useful stuff to have around anyway.

 

[dcdec]

Gardz primes and seals so you have an excellent surface to apply paint to.
I'd scrape off excess paste with a wide scraper whilst stripping and then go the gardz route, its a proper ball ache trying to wash paste off a ceiling, £25 well spent and as said you'll always find a use for it

 

[Starspark1]

Calm Down guys there are two points here.
The Gardz is one option if you have the money but dont forget we are in a recession here and an hours hard work to remove the paste is certainly worth the saving rather than masking the problem with another product. Im sure the op can make his mind up for himself though.

 

[vibrobullit407]

Calm Down guys there are two points here.
The Gardz is one option if you have the money but dont forget we are in a recession here and an hours hard work to remove the paste is certainly worth the saving rather than masking the problem with another product. Im sure the op can make his mind up for himself though.

With gardz you would not be "masking" the problem, you would be sealing the paste and eliminating the problem. I would also like to say good luck on removing all remnants of paste of an average size ceiling in an hour! Takes quite a bit of time for a thorough job!

 

[RMS]

It's possible to do this within an hour. I know this because I have done this in the past using sugar soap. You've just got to be consistent and thorough.

Using sugar soap will remove all the paste.

 

[vibrobullit407]

If you go down the washing route just add a little washing up liquid to warm water. No need for the sugar soap!

 

[Starspark1]

If you go down the washing route just add a little washing up liquid to warm water. No need for the sugar soap!

Well no wonder you wouldnt get it done in an hour if your only using washing up liquid as in my experience sugar soap is far more effective.
See here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_soap personally i think this will save you a lot of time and money in the future.
Vibro you may save a lot of money and time in the future by trying something different. Remember your ways isnt always the best way.

 

[vibrobullit407]

If you go down the washing route just add a little washing up liquid to warm water. No need for the sugar soap!

Well no wonder you wouldnt get it done in an hour if your only using washing up liquid as in my experience sugar soap is far more effective.
See here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_soap personally i think this will save you a lot of time and money in the future.
Vibro you may save a lot of money and time in the future by trying something different. Remember your ways isnt always the best way.

Fail to see what the link provided is for!
Could you please explain why sugar soap will be better at removing paste than just hot water with a little washing up liquid and why it would be faster.