How to Paint Wooden Ceilings

Prep the Ceiling

• 1

  Remove the light fixture with a screwdriver, and tape over the electrical box beneath with masking tape.

• 2

  Sand off the old finish with a pole sander, fitted with a medium-grit sanding pad. Sand in the direction of the wood grain.

• 3

  Sand with a foam sanding block around the edges of the ceiling and in any spots you can't reach with the pole sander.

• 4

  Apply wide painter's tape along the top edge of the walls to protect against overspray.

• 5

  Fill a clean bucket with paint and insert the end of the hose that connects to a pump-type paint sprayer. You can't use a container-type sprayer to spray a ceiling because the angle of the sprayer will not draw paint into the spray gun.

• 6

  Practice painting on a scrap of wood before spraying the ceiling. Adjust the nozzle of the sprayer to a fine, light mist.

• 7

  Spray the ceiling, starting in one corner and applying the paint in a thin coat, using uniform, side-to-side arm movements. Cover the entire wood ceiling with one coat of paint. It's OK if the wood shows through. Let the first coat dry completely.

• 8

  Apply a second thin coat. It may take multiple thin coats of spray paint before you achieve the desired result.

• 9

  Remove the painter's tape along the walls and reinstall the ceiling light after the painting is complete.