I have a room with very small popcorn ceiling texture. Ick!

I have a popcorn ceiling. As a matter of fact, I have replaced the original one because I really like it for just ONE room. The first one came down fairly easily. It was very dirty so I decided to try to clean and paint it. To my surprise it started softening and coming off. I ended up having it done again - just because I like it in that ONE room. I suspect that if you spray it with plain water you'll find that it will soften and you can scrape it off. It will probably be time consuming but eventually you should be able to get it all off.

I would suggest not trying to do each section completely all at once. Get the major part of it off then work on smoothing it. Is there a possibility that the ceiling underneath will get damaged too? Maybe. I don't know. It might have been sprayed on to cover something else. You could try removing it in a small corner that won't show too much. But go slowly and be careful. (All these warnings are to protect my ... LOL) You might find that it comes down easily and you will find a perfect ceiling underneath. Prime it, paint it and you'll have the look you want.

I'm a 'google' person so I'd google it before doing anything. You might find a lot more help than I've given you here. Good luck! :)

How to Remove a Popcorn Textured or Acoustic Ceiling

Check for Asbestos

Take a small sample of the ceiling material and send it to an EPA certified testing lab before you begin. If your ceiling contains Asbestos, you will need to have a certified asbestos removal contractor do the job for you.

Turn Electricity Off and Remove Light Fitting/s

Since you’ll be using a lot of water in this project, first be sure to turn of the electricity and check it with a circuit tester. Remove all furniture and ceiling light fittings.

Cover the Floor with Plastic Sheeting

Tape small pieces of plastic over each electrical outlet and cover the floor with heavy duty plastic floor sheeting, extending it up the walls a foot or so.

Cover the Walls with Plastic Sheeting

Run painter’s tape along the upper edge of the walls then cover the entire wall with plastic sheeting, taping the top edge to the tape already there. Roll out a layer of resin paper on the floor.

Wet the Ceiling

Using a garden sprayer, wet the ceiling, working in 4 to 5 square feet areas at a time, wetting the ceiling thoroughly, but being careful not to over-wet it.

Scrape the Popcorn Material off the Ceiling

Round off the corners of a joint knife (to prevent gouges) and use it to scrape off the popcorn ceiling. If you run into any hard scraping areas, apply a little more water, wait and then try again.

Unroll Second Layer of Resin Paper and Finish Scraping

Unroll another layer of resin paper directly on top of ceiling debris and continue scraping ceiling. When all material has been scraped off, take down plastic sheeting from walls, roll up wet paper and plastic on floor and place all into a large garbage bag.

Re-cover any Bare Joints Using Joint Compound and Joint Tape

Mix joint compound in a tray and apply along the joint lines. Dip joint tape into water, squeeze of excess and use a putty knife to press the tape into the joint compound. Smooth off excess.

Fill any Eroded Nail Holes

Use two thin applications of joint compound to bring holes flush with the wallboard.

Sand the Ceiling

Use a sanding pad on the end of a long pole to sand off any high ridges.

Finish Your Ceiling

Fill any low spots with another coat or two of joint compound, sanding in between coats. Prime the ceiling using a primer that says “for wallboard”. Your ceiling is then ready for you to paint or texture as you like.

Thanks guys!!! I'm going to try!!

Wet it and scrape it.

You a spray bottle with water and a scraper. It's messy but you don't want to soak a lot of water in your flooring. So a spray bottle and painter tarp. After your done go back with a bucket of water and sponge, clean it really well. Before you paint the ceiling you must primer it first. Sometimes the popcorn residue will not let latex paint stick causing it to peel off. From experience primer it.

Two options: Knock down as much texture as you can. Then put a skim coat of drywall compound over the texture. Try to keep it as smooth as possible to minimize the sanding.

About ten years ago Georgia Pacific came out with 4'x 10', 1/4" thick drywall just for this purpose. You can cover the texture with the drywall. The 10' length allows for less seams. Then just tape and mud the seams. Add crown molding in the corners where the ceiling meets the walls so no mudding required.