Light joint compound to cover popcorn ceiling? Any attempts, results?

Jo McGee
by Jo McGee
  9 answers
  • Suzette Suzette on Jul 12, 2017

    Hi Jo, Here's a link that may help! https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/3-ways-to-deal-popcorn-ceiling


    Good luck!

  • Jean Stewart Jean Stewart on Jul 12, 2017

    Spray it down with wàter then take a scraper and clean it off

  • Sharon Sharon on Jul 12, 2017

    Test it for asbestos before you start, get a kit at the hardware store or home depot.

  • Christina Dwinell Christina Dwinell on Jul 12, 2017

    Popcorn ceilings just fall apart when you try to anything to them. I suggest covering all your furniture and floor with large roll of plastic. Spray ceiling with water then scrap off popcorn. We had to do that to my mother in laws house. Then we were able to paint. If you don't get it wet it will make a dirty mess.

  • Maynard Maynard on Jul 12, 2017

    Painting over the popcorn will be disastrous, please trust me on this . Get/use a 12 inch drywall compound feathering tool, attach a pole if the ceiling is too high to reach, and spend an hour scraping the ceiling. The pole is best attached with 2 screws driven thru predrilled holes thru the pole into the handle of the compound knife. Many wraps of duct tape may be an acceptable substitute.

    I already know what you're thinking, OMG the mess, all over everything. Yeah, thats why you need to start this whole operation by "bagging the room" You will need " X " number of really cheap plastic drop cloths, X is determined by the relative sizes of the room and the drop cloths. Also a roll of 1 inch painters tape. now for X. lats say the room is 10x20 feet. First the floor, lets say the plastic is 10x10. You'll need 2. For a 10ft wall you'll need 1, 2 walls means 2. For a 20ft wall you'll need 2, 2 walls means 4. Added up its 8. install as follows; floor- go to the furniture, plastic under legs to hold in place, tape center seam. Starting in the middle of a short wall tape plastic to wall at ceiling line, 6-8 inches of tape every 2-3 feet. make sure the corner is tight. Overlap next plastic only 1 inch, continue along long wall. IMPORTANT NOTE: plastic dropping from ceiling should cover all furniture, ending on the floor drop cloth. You'll tape the wall cloths down to the floor when you are finished doing the walls. When finished you should be standing inside a plastic bag, with the furniture and walls outside the bag. Tape the wall plastic to the floor not quite as thoroughly as you attached it to the walls. When you're finished scraping the ceiling, go around the room tapping on the wall plastic to vibrate the residual droppings down to the floor. Now untape the floor, andCAREFULLY fold it up and throw out the floor plastic, replacing it with clean plastic. ( guess that means 2 more drop cloths, total 10. buy 12, just in case. ) You are now ready to paint, because everything is covered from before.

    Oh, an after thought. Leave the seam nearest the entrance to the room taped from 6ft up only,so you have an entry/exit for the workspace.

  • Kevin Chaney Kevin Chaney on Jul 12, 2017

    Be careful.. Depending on the age of the ceiling, it may contain asbestos. So... if any is knocked down, be careful with the cleanup. :-)

  • Brenda Brandt Deason Brenda Brandt Deason on Jul 12, 2017

    If you get the popcorn wet, it may come down.

  • Lavonne Lavonne on Jul 12, 2017

    Best to sand down the textured ceiling and then recover with the compound. If you don't sand you will put too much compound on the ceiling and it may crack and peel. TIP: do not try to vacuum up all the powder from sanding or you will kill the vacuum. Sweep as much as possible then damp mop. Save the vacuuming until there is barely anything left.

  • FRED RIGGS FRED RIGGS on Jul 12, 2017

    spray with water and take the popcorn down. Can't cover it, remove it. That is what the pro's do.