Do I have to prime a 'sterling silver' ceiling before painting it semi-gloss ultra white?

Question

I have a black light in my room and thought it would look cool if I painted my ceiling white so it would glow in the dark. Also, I did some research on 'black lights' and it said something about Phosphors in todays paint.

Answer 1

You are right, it will look really cool with the black light.... and you must absolutely prime first, and use a good primer! It will be worth it, and you will use less elbow grease in the end.

Answer 2

Not only should you prime it, but you should wash it with tsp first. use the liquid TSP as it is non toxic and you won't have to rinse it.

To prime, especially if you don't know what kind of paint is already on the ceiling, you should use an oil-based primer and not a latex primer. You can then paint any kind of paint on top of oil-based primer, even latex which is the best and easiest clean up. If the paint on your ceiling is an oil paint and you paint with latex on top of it, your paint won't stick.

You will also get better coverage with your white if you prime first.

Answer 3

white paint will not react to the black light nearly as well as a product by Crayola (paint products, believe it or not,) that is glow in the dark acrylic. just paint it over the existing colour and put the light to it and it will come ALIVE! it can be found at mostly benjamine moore dealers or perhaps porter paint dealer will have it...depends on where you live.

Answer 4

i usually recommend that my client prime a surface prior to painting it a lighter color. this helps the paint which is more expensive to cover more efficiently, and will ensure a firm bond, use "kills 2 latex primer" which can be purchased at most home depot type store's

Answer 5

my guess is yes...prime it. if not sure test a spot and see what happens