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Painting basement ceiling...drywall first or paint first?

11K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  RWCustom 
#1 ·
I am finishing my basement and plan to paint the ceiling flat black using an airless sprayer. I have come to a point where I am ready to either paint or drywall.

I had originally planned on painting first so I wouldn't have to worry much about cleanup and stuff, but then got to thinking that all the white dust from the drywall/sanding could wreck my new black paint job.

So I ask you...would you wait to paint the ceiling until drywall was sanded, but before painting drywall? OR Would you just paint the ceiling and not worry about the drywall dust?
 
#2 ·
Flat black will show all the dust and trying to clean it will burnish it.
Completely finish the mudding, sanding etc. in my opinion, I'd even prime the walls then spray the ceiling. Might be worthwhile to drop a little poly around the walls, just a few feet.
 
#3 ·
I remember seeing it but never used it. There is a material you can roll on to hard floors almost like a frisket in the art world. You peel it up when done walking on it, painting, etc.

I guess if you are planning to spray the ceiling I would do that before drywalling. Just remember that flat black stuff is very unforgiving as far as scuff marks and so forth so plan on some touch up after you hang, tape/mud and prime/paint the drywall.

Problem with this approach is you will have drywall dust getting on the flat black. I guess I could argue for finishing all the drywall and covering it with plastic when you paint the ceiling.
 
#4 ·
I've had to deal with this exact issue on a small commercial job years ago, where they went ahead and sprayed the open ceiling, duct work, rafters, etc. with a flat black paint. They did this before the walls were finished and before some of the extremely fubar'd portions of the concrete floor were ground down in preparation for new tile. Long story short is that there was a thick layer of dust covering the flat black and I don't know if they ever got it cleaned up since the ceiling was probably at least 20ft high. If it was me I'd get all of the sheetrock completely finished, sanded, and primed. Clean and shop vac all of the dust out of the area, spray the ceiling with as many coats as needed for coverage, and once that dries you can cut in over the black overspray on the walls with a stain blocking primer, or run a band of tape and paper around the walls to catch the majority of the black overspray prior to spraying the ceiling.

The bottom line is that flat black paint will show any areas where you try to clean it, or wipe it off, and I think you'll save yourself a lot of headaches by just being patient and spraying it at the proper time, which would be after you're finished sanding and priming all of the sheetrock.

Hopefully that helps a little, good luck with your project.
 
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