7 Best Ceiling Paints of 2023
Painting a ceiling can be a messy job. You’re standing on a ladder, holding a paintbrush and trying your best to stop the paint splashing on your face, and the carpet.
This situation sounds like a job you want to avoid, but your ceiling is looking shabby, and it needs a touch of paint. Fortunately, paint technology has come a long way in recent years.
Manufacturers now make specialized ceiling paints that are drip-free and spread evenly without much effort.
If you’re planning on giving the ceilings in your home a lick of paint, then you need the best ceiling paint available. We put together this review of the best products for your paint job.
Ceiling Paint Reviews
Here are our top choices for the best ceiling paint products available. Each of these paints has unique features. Choose a product that meets your needs and the décor of your home.
Product
Benefits
Best for
KILZ Color-Change Stainblocking Interior Ceiling Paint
Rust-Oleum 253536 Metallic Accents Paint
Homax Decorative Finish Roll-On Texture Ceiling Paint
Montage Signature Eco-Friendly Paint
Glidden Latex Ceiling Paint
Prestige Paints Interior Paint, and Primer
Benjamin Moore's Waterborne Ceiling Paint
KILZ Color-Change Stainblocking Interior Ceiling Paint — Best for Covering Ceiling Stains
Your roof springs a leak during the first seasonal rains and leaves an excellent big water stain on your ceiling. It’s an inconvenience, and a mold risk as well. After fixing the roof and checking for mold, you’ll need to take care of that unsightly water stain that seeped through the ceiling, leaving a big, brown ring behind.
Fortunately, paint manufacturers develop specialized formulas for this specific task. Stainblocking paint helps you cover up any stains with one or two coats. While other paints may require multiple coats, and still not wholly conceal a blemish, KILZ color-change stain-blocking formula works.
KILZ is one of the leading brands in interior and exterior paints. All of their products come with warranties, and you can expect the painting experience to live up to its claims. KILZ color-change stain-blocking interior ceiling paint is the ideal choice for ceilings that are looking worse for wear.
When rolling on this paint, you might get a bit of a surprise to find that what you thought was white is pink in color. KILZ use a proprietary color-changing formula in their paint.As the paint dries, it changes color from light pink to white. It’s an excellent way to gauge when it’s time to add a second coat.
After finishing your paint job, you’ll notice fewer VOCs in the air than with other interior paint brands. The paint smell in your home will disappear in as little as 24 to 48-hours. KILZ stain-blocking paint dries to the touch in one hour, and you can apply your second coat if you need it, after 2-hours.
Use this paint in the bedroom, the living room or the dining room, it’s versatile, and you can apply it with a paint sprayer for best results. The spatter-resistant formula ensures than no drips land on your face, in your eyes, or your hair while painting. A gallon of KILZ stain-blocking paint covers up to 400-square feet.
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Rust-Oleum 253536 Metallic Accents Paint — Best Decorative Ceiling Paint
Do you have an interior designer inside you longing to burst free? Spruce up your ceiling with a metallic touch using Rust-Oleum Metallic accents paint. This formulation is low in VOCs and is safe for use inside your home. You can use this paint to create intricate designs on your cornices or use it to spray your lounge ceiling for a luxurious look.
The metallic tint in this paint is gorgeous, and if you’re looking to add style to a room and its furnishings, then this paint is your top choice. Suitable for entertainment areas, living rooms, and even the bedroom, Rust-Oleum’s metallic accents will bring any room to life with a burst of fashionable color and metallic tint.
Give your home a splash of elegance with this metallic ceiling paint. We recommend that you apply this paint with a sprayer, as brushing may not have the same effect. However, you can also use the paint to accentuate textures in your ceiling, as well. Pressed ceiling boards look fantastic when coating in this beautiful color.
Rust-Oleum offers this metallic paint in 15 different tones to suit any home. This penny-copper tone is our favorite, and it accentuates our wrought iron bed frame in the bedroom. After spraying, this ceiling paint will dry in less than 30-minutes, with one 32-fl oz tub providing coverage for up to 105 square feet.
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Homax Decorative Finish Roll-On Texture Ceiling Paint — Best Wall Finish Ceiling Paint
Do you feel like adding a decorative touch of style to your ceiling? Why not consider using wall-finish ceiling paint? This paint dries with a textured finish, enhancing the visual qualities of your room. It’s the ideal paint choice for interior decorators looking to give any room a unique feel.
Homax Decorative Finish Roll-On Texture Ceiling paint is ready to use. It requires no thinning, and only a light mixing before you start painting. When working with this paint, you’ll find it surprising how easy it is to spread it around. The non-drip formula and anti-spatter features of this paint make it ideal for avoiding splashes of your face, eyes, and hair.
Homax Decorative Finish Roll-On Texture Ceiling paint also features low VOC counts in the formulation. As a result, the freshly painted smell disappears faster from your home. You can layer this paint into different patterns, producing a unique effect for your ceiling. This paint is the perfect choice for anyone that is looking to bring a sense of individuality to a room.
This Homax product is also excellent for hiding imperfections in ceiling boards, and it works well when covering stains. One two-gallon tub will only cover around 150-square feet, which is on the low side, and it may be expensive to coat your ceiling with this product. However, the results are worth the expense, and you’ll feel thrilled with the final finish of your ceiling.
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Montage Signature Eco-Friendly Paint — Best Eco-Friendly Option
We like the eco-friendly advantage of Montage ceiling paint. The company states that they only use environmentally-friendly, non-polluting materials when making this paint. If you’re concerned about using toxic chemicals in your paint job, then Montage is your go-to choice for painting your ceiling.
Due to the unique formulation of this paint, you’ll experience fewer VOCs, and the paint smell disappears faster. In some cases, with the right ventilation and temperature, the paint smell might disappear overnight.
Montage back their signature product with a 10-year warranty, showing that they are willing to stand behind their claims. We had some concerns with the “environmentally-friendly” product. Many companies that advertise gimmicks such as this end up delivering a shoddy product. However, that’s not the case with Montage Signature Eco-Friendly ceiling paint.
To our surprise, the paint rolls on effortlessly, with next to no splashback or spatter. Montage makes this paint is available in either a semi-gloss or low-sheen finish, giving you more choice on the final look and feel of the paint job.
Montage also makes this paint available in multiple tub and bucket sizes to suit any room size. Available in numerous colors, this paint is a top choice for anyone that’s feeling eco-conscious about their carbon footprint. This paint offers you excellent coverage, with a gallon easily covering around 400-square meters or more.
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Glidden Latex Ceiling Paint — Best Latex Paint for Covering Imperfections
Does your ceiling have imperfections like dents and scratches? Typically, if you want to avoid painting over these issues, and accenting them after finishing the paint job, you’ll need to make a plan. Most DIY experts will either remove the ceiling boards in their entirety or fill in the imperfections using a filling compound before they start painting.
Fortunately, technology has come along to save the day. Instead of wasting hours on refurbishing or replacing your ceiling boards, you can use a paint designed specifically for covering imperfections in your ceiling. There could be a variety of reasons why you have damage to your ceiling boards — cracks in plaster or holes from hanging decorations, and this paint covers them all.
Glidden latex ceiling paint includes natural rubber latex in its formulation. Latex is a seeking substance, and it looks to fill cracks, holes, and voids on surfaces. You don’t need the pressure of a brush when applying this paint, either. The latex in the paint levels the painted area, filling in the cracks and holes without any effort on your part.
The paint dries to a perfect white finish in an hour and offers excellent coverage when used with a sprayer. Glidden latex paint is available in 3.785-gallon tubs, and you could easily paint every ceiling in your home with a sprayer, and still have leftovers.
Glidden latex paint will cover any imperfections in your ceiling with only one coat, making it an affordable and cost-effective solution for painting your ceilings.
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Prestige Paints Interior Paint, and Primer — Best Primer and Paint 2-in-1
If you have allergies to VOCs, you’re one of the millions of Americans with this problem. The volatile organic compounds in paint, produce that “painted smell” after finishing the job. In some cases, these VOCs can hang around for days, or even weeks, before they eventually dissipate.
People with allergies to VOCs find that they experience headaches, skin itching, nausea, and sleeping issues. While VOCs are not fatal at these levels, prolonged exposure over weeks can leave an affected individual feeling pretty lousy.
Fortunately, paint manufacturers are aware of this problem. The talented team of engineers over at Prestige Paints came up with a solution to VOCs. This paint brand produces next to zero VOCs after painting; it’s the ideal choice for anyone with allergies to these compounds. The fast-drying formula is dry within an hour, and the smell doesn’t hang around.
This smooth-finish ceiling paint provides a flat finish, with plenty of different color options available from Prestige. This 100-percent latex paint formula ensures cleaning up is easy with soapy water. Prestige interior paint and primer comes with a primer built-into the formula. There’s no need to prime your ceiling, just clean and start painting.
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Benjamin Moore's Waterborne Ceiling Paint — Best Premium Quality Ceiling Paint
Another brand that’s incredibly low on VOCs is Benjamin Moore’s Waterborne Ceiling Paint. However, Benjamin Moore’s is for homeowners with deep pockets. This premium brand shows in its price tag, and in the professional finish, it produces after painting.
If you own corporate offices, then this paint is ideal for reception areas and even in the boardroom. The paint provides a luxurious feeling of elegance and prestige that’s suitable for residences and high-end corporate applications.
The ultra-flat finish of Moore’s cuts down on ceiling glare, providing maximum light diffusion in the room. The anti-spatter and self-priming formula make this paint he Rolls-Royce of interior ceiling paints. Apply this directly to drywall with no need for a primer, and it provides a durable and long-lasting finish that looks great for years.
This paint also features an anti-microbial additive to the formula that’s resistant to mold, mildew, and dust. If you’re looking to impress with your new ceiling paint job, then Benjamin Moore’s Waterborne Ceiling Paint is out top choice for you. Clean-up is also easy, rinse your brushes, sprayer parts, or rollers in fresh water, and the paint comes right off.
The final effect of Moore’s on your ceiling is worth the price tag. Sometimes you have to pay more to get better value. We would be content with using any of the paints mentioned in this review. However, Benjamin Moore’s Waterborne Ceiling Paint is our favorite if you have the budget.
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Ceiling Paint Buyer’s Guide
Paint manufacturers produce specialized paint for specific applications around your home. For example, exterior wall paint is weatherproof and durable, but you wouldn’t want to paint your interior walls inside the housed with the stuff.
Ceiling Paint Formulations
Ceiling paints also have specialized formulas, as well. Since you’re painting indoors, one of the biggest concerns is selecting paint with low volatile organic chemicals (VOCs).
VOCs are what give the room that paint-like smell while it is drying. VOCs may also stick around in the air for a few days after the paint dries as well.
Another essential characteristic of ceiling paint is its viscosity. Manufacturers include non-drip technology into the paint to prevent it from dripping from the ceiling during and after painting.
Most ceiling paints also feature materials that allow you to wash the surface of the ceiling without damaging the paintwork.
The viscosity of ceiling paint also makes it ideal for covering imperfections and stains on your ceiling.
Always apply your paint using the right applicator for the type of ceiling you’re painting. Rollers are suitable for flat ceilings, while a popcorn ceiling requires the use of a spray gun applicator.
Preparing Your Ceiling for Painting
For the best results from your paint job, we recommend that you take the time to prepare your ceiling properly before you start painting. Remove all furniture from the room, and lay down a drop cloth.
Tape the cloth to the edges of the skirting on the floor. This strategy helps to prevent paint slipping between any cracks and staining your carper or tiles.
Clean the ceiling using a mixture of sugar soap and water. We prefer the powder sugar soap over the liquid version for cleaning walls and ceilings. After the ceiling dries, it’s ready to paint.
Some paints require you to use a primer before applying the first layer of the topcoat. Primers help the paint adhere to the surface, increasing the longevity of the paint
Conclusion
Choosing the right ceiling paint for your application is vital if you want the best finish to your paint job. Each of the ceiling paints in this review has unique characteristics for different applications.
Compare the product information in this review with your ceiling paint needs, and use it to make an informed purchase decision.
Starting on the right foot is critical when painting your ceiling. If you select the wrong paint for the job, you’re wasting your time and money, and you’ll have to start again.
If you don’t have any handyman skills, then consider hiring a contractor to do the work for you, and avoid the mess involved with painting your ceiling.