Painting a Popcorn Ceiling

It's not recommended to roll paint on an acoustic ceiling, as it is very porous. It will absorb a great deal of paint and it's nearly impossible to achieve even coverage. Often, the entire layer of the "cottage cheese" texture will come right off on the roller, leaving a bare strip of drywall.

The most efficient way to paint a textured ceiling is to spray paint it with a flat latex. It's a difficult job, best left to a professional painter. One possible complication is the fact that asbestos was widely used in textured ceiling spray prior to 1980.

Professional painters can usually respray the acoustic ceilings in an average-sized home in less than a day for about the same price as materials alone. It is also possible to have the entire acoustic layer removed and retextured like the walls, which would leave them much easier to maintain, sweep and paint.