Switched my opinion on painting ceilings first after a messy mistake

I used to be one of those people who said always paint the ceiling first, no exceptions. But after doing my living room last month, I realized that advice only works if you're okay with drips and splatter on your freshly painted walls. I did the ceiling first, got paint drops all over the walls, then had to spend an extra 2 hours touching up with a small brush. My neighbor, who's been painting houses in Phoenix for 15 years, saw me struggling and said he always paints walls first then does the ceiling last with a good edger. He argued that cutting in near the ceiling is easier when the wall color is already down, and any ceiling roller splatter just blends in. Tried it on my kitchen this weekend, and honestly, it went way smoother. Has anyone else found a specific order that saves them cleanup time?

2 comments

2 Comments

barbara_kim3d ago

Hmm, I gotta push back a little here. Your neighbor's method might work for him but it's not really the standard for a reason. If you do walls first and then the ceiling, you're more likely to get ceiling paint on your walls when you cut in, especially if your edger leaves a messy line. That blue tape can only do so much. The real trick is to do the ceiling first, then let it dry fully before you even start the walls. And yeah, you have to be careful not to fling paint around, but that's on your roller technique, not the order. A good thick drop cloth on the floor and wiping the roller edge on the pan tray keeps splatter down. Your extra 2 hours of touch up sounds like you might have been using too much paint on the roller.

emma_perry3d ago

Wait, are you saying you actually do the ceiling first then? I mean, I've always done walls first and then ceiling because I feel like the ceiling paint is thinner and it just kind of blends in no matter what. Maybe it's just me but I've had good luck with that order on like five different rooms now. I just use a really light touch on the ceiling roller and I keep a wet rag handy for any drips. Idk, maybe I'm just lucky or my paint is different than yours.