Scraping off Popcorn style ceiling texture

How to remove Popcorn style ceiling Texture. By Ken Rader Owner: Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. In the 1970's and 1980's a lot of homes were built and the ceilings were textured with popcorn style texture. Sometimes heavy and sometimes light. They even sprinkled a little glitter on some ceilings. Well here we are in the 21st century and that texture will not do. Out of date and no chance of coming back into style. IT HAS TO COME OFF! Here is a list of the tools you will need. 1. 6" putty knife (for scraping) 2. Small bucket or dust pan (to catch the scraped texture) 3. 30 gal. trash bags 4. Plastic film for covering up floor and anything else left in the room. 5. Step Ladder 6. Gloves 7. Masking tape and paper and a masking machine if you can afford it. (Cost about $50.00) 8. Safety glasses 9. Ball cap or hat to cover you head 10.Dust Mask. Everything about this job works against you because gravity is pulling everything down. To keep the mess to a minimum you will need to use the bucket or dust pan to catch the texture as you scrape it. 11. Pump up garden sprayer Begin by removing as much furniture and items from the room you are going to scrape the ceiling in. Whatever you cannot remove will have to be covered with plastic or a drop cloth. Fill up the sprayer with hot water and adjust the spray to a fan pattern, not a single stream. Wet down a section about 5' by 5' square. Wet it down two or three times since the texture will usually soak up the water. The wetter it is the easier it will scrape. Now take your bucket or dust pan and hold it under your scraper and scrape the texture off allowing it to fall into the bucket or dust pan. You will not catch all of it but whatever you catch is that much less on the floor. After a few scraping passes you will have to empty your bucket into the trash bag. Wet texture is heavy. Go at an even steady pace, no need to hurry. If the texture begins to dry out then wet it down again. Keep it wet because it will scrape easier. Once you do the first section then move on to another section. Sometimes ceilings have been painted and this makes it a little more difficult to scrape because the water will not soak into the texture because of the paint. It this is the case you will have to scrape in layers. First layer texture nibs, next layer some of the texture sheetrock mud, and finally the last of the texture from the sheetrock. Once this is done you will need to do some repairs from gouges and perhaps replace some sections of sheetrock tape. Then you will need to decide if you are going to texture the ceiling again or not before you paint it. You will almost always have to texture the ceiling again. The texture covered up a lot of mistakes in the original sheetrock job and all of them will be visible again. Most people will either texture the ceiling with orange peel or knockdown texture that matches what they have on the walls of their home. Here are some picture of a large room we just finished. Texture was removed, repairs made, Ceilings textured with a knock down and the wall textured with an orange peel. Paint was then sprayed on the ceiling and then rolled on the walls. Be patient and remember this is not a quick clean job. Most people will tire out quickly because you are working with your hands and arms above your head. So take a break every few minutes and keep the texture wet so that it will scrape easier. Have fun, call in a few favors for some extra manpower. Don't take any shortcuts and be thorough. If you leave gouges or do not make the repairs needed, a coat of paint will not make the go away. They will still be there only in a different color. If you put on a new texture it will usually not hide any problem areas that you should have fixed. We hope this information helps Happy Painting and Decorating Ken Rader Ken Rader Interiors L.L.C. Professional Painters and Decorators Serving Northwest Arkansas since 1987 Licensed and Insured visit our web site at www.kenraderinteriors.com or follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/ken.rader.interiors

Arkansas Best Painters- Ken Rader Interiors "How to use a Paint Brush"

ARKANSAS BEST PAINTERS- KEN RADER INTERIORS L.L.C. CLICK ON THE BANNER AND VISIT OUR WEB SITE! How to use a Paint Brush. By: Ken Rader- Painter and Decorator with Ken Rader Interiors Perhaps you have been struggling with using a paint brush. No matter how hard you try you just can't seem to get a good straight line without getting paint on the trim or ceiling. FRUSTRATION! There are 3 essential things needed that will ensure a professional looking paint job using a paint brush. 1. A quality paint brush. This should be the best paint brush you can buy. The filaments should be Nylon or a combination of Nylon and Polyester. A nylon brush of 2 1/2" wide with a sash cut, ( that is an angled brush). The more high quality the brush the thinner the filaments or bristles. Cheaper brushes have thicker bristles and are much more difficult to use. The higher quality brush will have lots and lots of filaments or bristles. This is important because the bristles do not absorb the paint. Rather, the paint is trapped between the bristles and then as the brush is stroked, the paint is released. Thinner bristles also lay down a thinner film of paint which results in a straighter line with very little paint pushed onto surfaces you do not want painted. With this high quality brush you have the right tool and now you need to know how to use the tool. This is what I call "The Feather Touch". You must apply just enough pressure on the brush to allow the bristles to fan out. This will cause the leading edge of the brush to be only one or two layers of bristles to touch the line that you are wanting to paint to. Here are some pictures of what I am talking about. 2. The second essential is high quality paint. High Quality Paint has premium ingredients such as Acrylic and Titanium. The higher quality paints also have better grades of these and other ingredients which results in a smother transfer of the paint from the brush to the surface you are painting. Acrylic makes the paint slick and Titanium makes the paint stick. A word of caution. Some premium paints are thinner than others. I recommend a thicker paint for the DIY'ers. The thicker paint will not run or sag, and you will need all the help you can get starting out, so " buy the thicker paint". You may have to shop around for the brand that you are comfortable using. Case in point: Sherwin Williams has a product called 'Pro Classic". It is the paint of choice for many professional painters. It flows beautifully and shows very few brush marks. However, it is a very thin paint and so you can only put on a very thin layer of paint at a time. It will sag and it will run and it will drip. The problem is that it will not set up fast enough before gravity influences it and so" here come the sags and runs". So, I opt for Behr Paint. I know, many a professional painter will not use Behr. But for the Home Owner that wants to do their own painting it is wonderful. It is thicker and will not spatter, run or sag and it will make any paint job look great. I am a professional Painter and I have used all of the Paints available in my area. At this time we use only Behr paint. Not that the others are not good as well, it is just the best product for us and we have learned how to paint with it. That will be the case with any paint you choose. You will need to learn how to paint with it, how it covers, how fast it dries, does it show brush marks, etc. 3. That brings us to the third essential necessary for a good job. BECOME AN ARTIST! That's right, an artist. There is a measure of learning involved with painting. If you only paint once every 2 or 3 years then you will not be as good as the person that paints once a month. Also, if you project is a large one you will notice that the last painting of the project is better than the painting you started with. That's called "A learning curve". Remember, you are trying to develop the "Feather touch". Notice how I hold the brush in the pictures. You want as few bristles following along your paint line as possible. Keep the brush feathered out. With time you will learn how much paint to put in the brush and how much pressure to apply to transfer the paint to the surface. Also keep in mind that you will always need to paint 2 coats. Even with premium paint this will be necessary. Well, what do you think? Are you ready to give it a try? Start with quality tools and products and you will well on your way to a successful paint job. Some of you may want to use masking tape until you develop you brushing skills. We have posted articles that show and tell you how to use the tape as well as the kind you should purchase. It is a good read so look it up. KEN RADER INTERIORS L.L.C. IS PROUD TO OFFER THIS INFORMATION. WE OFFER ARTICLES ABOUT PAINTING AND DECORATING FOR YOUR EDUCATION AND ENJOYMENT. And this time “ How to search the Web”. WE ARE PROFESSIONAL PAINTERS AND DECORATORS IN FAYETTEVILLE ARKANSAS. WE OFFER PAINTING AND DECORATING SERVICES THROUGHOUT NORTHWEST ARKANSAS. FOR ALL OF YOUR PAINTING NEEDS CALL US AT (479) 443-3686 EMAIL US AT kennethrader@att.net and be sure and visit our web page at http://www.kenraderinteriors.com AS ALWAYS “HAPPY PAINTING AND DECORATING!”