Letter 15076

Painting tin ceilings [Arizona] 

++ What color were the old tin ceilings usually painted? Sharon D [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Glendale, AZ, USA ++ Hello, Sharon, I saw your question when I was looking for information on painting tin. I wonder if you or anyone can tell me if you need to prime when painting tin or can you just paint straight onto the clean tin? Rachel P [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Sudbury, ON, Canada +++ Dear Sharon and Rachel, Saw both your inquiries while searching information on new tin ceilings and history of old. Ours is circa early 1800's and the layers of paint have all been white. As tin can & does rust , a layer of primer such as BINS or Rustoleum is necessary. If you are painting an old ceiling with stains and rust spots, just lightly sand with fine sand paper to smooth out bumps from the rust (use a mask and hepa-vacuum in case of lead dust) and apply BINS. Then put on your finish coat. I use semi-gloss enamel to bring out all the design detail. The results are beautiful. Good luck, Jan M [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting] - Lebanon, ME, USA

I hope someone can answer my question in relation to tin ceiling.
We have just installed new panels in our basement ceiling and all my instructions say to use an oil based paint/primer or clear polyurethane coating.

I want to keep the silver steel look so I am using the clear coating. My question is regarding to cleaning it prior to sealing.
There are smudges from the leather gloves we wore while handling it and even Windex isn't helping.

Any suggestions?
Or will these even show once the clear coat is on?

Melody S [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Seymour, Indiana

I read about this issue via a browser search after I saw rust on my new tin ceiling. I recently installed a tin ceiling and here's what they don't tell you: fingerprints must be removed immediately or they start to cause oxidation to the tin. Surely there must be some kind of glove one could wear (cotton?) to keep the prints off. And once they're there - they stay. We tried the vinegar and water solution that was recommended but the fingerprints remained. Then dad tried turpentine - oops! That discolored the metal. Then I tried denatured alcohol which seemed to remove the turpentine stain but not the original fingerprints. Then it rained outside and the window being broken, a lot of humidity came into the room. This morning the three panels that we tried to clean had a fine layer of orange on them. You guessed it - rust! I think we're going to have to use the aluminum colored rustoleum paint and cover the whole thing now. What a mess. For 1500 dollars, you'd think the company could have included a couple pages on tips and tricks for new ceilings!

Perhaps with a buffing wheel and some jeweler's rouge [link is to product info at Amazon] I could bring the original shine back, but it would require me doing the whole ceiling for uniformity, followed by an immediate clear coat - that day or the next. Waiting to deal with the fingerprints was a waste.

Michael M [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
- Port Townsend, Washington, USA

I am interested in using tin ceiling as a back splash in a kitchen remodel. What would be the best way to prime, paint and seal in order to avoid problems in the future?

Nadine F [last name deleted for privacy due to age of posting]
remodeler - Red Bank, NJ, USA

As you see, Nadine,we appended your question to a thread that hopefully will pretty much answer it. But this would be if you wanted to reuse genuine old tin ceiling tiles. If you are going with new, today you can buy powder coated "ceiling tile" for backsplashes, and that's what we put in our kitchen. We're very happy with it and it will be much more rust resistant than what you can do yourself. Good luck.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, NJ

I have acquired a very old house and the some of the ceilings are decorative tin, i would like restore them as they seem to have been painted over with aleast 3 coats of paint, can they be stripped? what product can i use without breaking the bank.

audrey dixon
buyer - rochester NY, US

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