don't mean to offend, but are you using ceiling paint? The formula is thickish and you can get away with applying just one coat unless terribly dirty or yellow. My concerns would be more about safety, since you're in such an awkward position.

I'm not offended, trust me. I am okay with the issue being operator error as long as you help me fix it . I am going to admit right now, I did not check the can, I just told the guy at SW I needed a gallon of flat white ceiling paint.

I used a second can of the same type of paint to paint my daughter's bedroom ceiling which worked will with just 2 coats, but I chalk the second coat there to the pervious owners love of heavily applied orange peel and my help was a 13 yo. You get what you pay for when it comes to day labor.

can should specifically say for ceiling, and I don't see that in your red can. that may be the problem. maybe you can take it back if at least 1/2 full and tell them you were specific about needing ceiling paint. however, if you weren't then it would be your cost. but worth it as so much easier than what you went thru.

also, if you have popcorn ceiling, ask salesperson to sell you a heavy nap roller for that purpose. will make your life easier.

I just recently painted ceilings and I was so concerned about not falling on my a@@ that I wasn't too worried about neat strokes. With the thickish paint, it was not an issue at all and paint was forgiving of poor paint technique

i had to buy the second can since I used up the first. Both times I specifically asked for flat white ceiling paint, the second time I even complained about the issues I was having and was told that is unusual. I looked on SW's site and it isn't listed as ceiling paint, but under the contractor section instead.

Texture in my house is a tad bipolar, it varies between the heavy handed orange peal (yes, even on the ceiling) to drywall with sand in the paint to just drywall. No popcorn thankfully. The ceiling in question is of the sand texture spectrum. One day when I hit the lotto I am going to pay someone to make it all look the same.

i am using the wrong roller, only a 9". I think I may have stretched the paint to it's limit the room is about 15x15.

I am going to try one more coat and paint on a diagonal to see if that finally does the trick. Thank you both for the advice. If that doesn't work, I may be braking down and paying someone. I still have two more rooms to do after this one.

Good to know the paint wasn't the issue at least.

Bossyvossy, hubby bought a scaffolding otherwise there is no way I would have attempted the 11 foot ceilings.

You can use an extender (floetrol) in the ProMar paint. The extender will keep it wet longer. A 15' run is pretty tough for a DIY to keep a wet edge. You need to be rolling at a very fast pace.

I use an 18" roller and still have to be moving along to keep it looking good. But don't try an 18" if you're not in excellent physical condition. It weighs a ton.

You are making me feel better about my skills as a painter. I also think I may need to fire my underage labor and hire my husband. I am going to make one more attempt with the larger roller and extender. If it still looks bad I will throw in the towel and hire someone, because despite what my husband says, those are not shadows.

My last comment will be that the right paint will take care of less than skilled painting. I think you will be happier dropping another $30 on the right paint than having unwilling family members struggle with the wrong paint. Hope you get the outcome you desire.

To my eye those blotches look like an oily stain as opposed to uneven finish. If it is a stain bleeding through from coat to coat to coat you need to stop it. A shellac based primer might work.

I used promar 400 flat on my ceilings and it worked fine, after some problems with a soft sheen paint.

Good luck.

up grade your paint selection, pro mar is way down the list of quality

Christopher Nelson what paint would you recommend? I live in a fairly rural area so my choices are Sherwin Williams, Ace or Lowes for purchasing.

Umm, if you already laid down 4 coats, give it at least a week to cure before you apply stain-blocker and retry. All those coats need to dry out right well.

Casey

Just reread this. Did you use 1 can to paint it 4 times? That's the way it is described above. If that's the case you are probably not getting enough paint on the roller to maintain the wet edge.

And yes, the 400 is a builders grade, but it's not crap. So it should cover the ceiling.

Hi Casey, it has been up there a month. So it should be okay.

jn3344 - honestly, at this point I don't remember if I used one or two cans. It may have been one, but for some reason I am thinking I may have bought another can in there somewhere, but between trim paint, primer, door paint and ceiling paint the purchasing of various white paints are starting to run together. I did use a new can on my daughter's ceiling because in the jumble of cans we have floating around I didn't see anything that looked like ceiling paint in the barn so whatever I bought we used up. I have also been distracted with other paint "emergencies" halfway through the ceiling project.

Pro Mar 400 is perfect for a ceiling. It's out of reach, out of touch, and doesn't wear. Pro Mar 400 is graded higher than a "ceiling" paint.

If you believe you have a underlying problem, use the Zinsser Ceiling Paint to repaint the current mess.

I have painted my share of walls, but this is my first attempt at a ceiling. Thanks to all of your advice, I have a new drive to tackle this monster. I have a game plan now. 1. paint over one of those spots. If it comes back again, I know it is a stain issue and switch paints. 2. Get at least 2 gallons to cover the ceiling. 3. 9 " roller and make sure have at least 3/4" nap. 4. Use an extender. 5. Paint fast, on a diagonal and get labor old enough to at least vote. Please feel free to add more advice anyone thinks of.

I had a water stain (leaky condenser pan in attic) on a garage ceiling that kept showing through layer after layer of zinsser primer. Problem solved with shellac. Shellac looked terrible, but the very next coat of primer covered beautifully. Shellac is thin and runny, terrible to put on a ceiling.

The big thing I notice about homeowner painters vs pro is that the homeowner just doesn't load up the paint in the roller cover properly. It's very important, especially when you are using flat paint, to really have the roller cover saturated through with paint. Also, I hope you are using a rolling pole.

"Both times I specifically asked for flat white ceiling paint".

I see you say that SW lists it differently than what you were told but do not use ceiling paint. Use a good quality wall paint - with extender for these fast drying low VOC paints. Ceiling paint is chalky and absorbent so it blotches. Apparently it gets worse with each coat versus one, instead of better.

BM told me that the contractor lines are cheap paint they wouldn't use on their own house. Don't use cheap paint if you want good results. It is totally worth it to shell out way too much for a gallon of paint.