Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

What you want to do is impossible. You will not get a monochrome ceiling no
matter what you do. It will still be spotty, and soon you will have
moldcicles hanging down.

If it was me, I'd have the texture removed. Spray lightly with water, let
sit for a few minutes, and scrape. Messy, but you don't have to fool with
it ever again. You could spray it with an airless, but you're just covering
over a problem.

Whatever you do to what's up there right now, is just going to seal it in,
possibly creating mold problems down the line. It's time to take it off.
It is a messy job, but not expensive, and if you want to save $$, you can do
it yourself easily with just a few tools.

Steve

Doug wrote:
Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

You might be able to remove the dirt with either a kneaded or a gum
eraser - both are gentle, not abrasive. Available at art stores and
some stationery stores.

I would not try spray paint - if anything, and you are good at mixing
colors, try some acryllic craft paint in small bottles from craft stores
(white is rarely REALLY white) - mix it and dab on lightly with a blunt
brush well squeezed out.

"Steve B" wrote in message
...

"Doug" wrote in message
...
Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

What you want to do is impossible. You will not get a monochrome ceiling
no matter what you do. It will still be spotty, and soon you will have
moldcicles hanging down.

If it was me, I'd have the texture removed. Spray lightly with water, let
sit for a few minutes, and scrape. Messy, but you don't have to fool with
it ever again. You could spray it with an airless, but you're just
covering over a problem.

Whatever you do to what's up there right now, is just going to seal it in,
possibly creating mold problems down the line. It's time to take it off.
It is a messy job, but not expensive, and if you want to save $$, you can
do it yourself easily with just a few tools.

Steve


"No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!"

I guess we're done here.....

wrote in message
m...
Doug wrote:
Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

You might be able to remove the dirt with either a kneaded or a gum
eraser - both are gentle, not abrasive. Available at art stores and some
stationery stores.

I would not try spray paint - if anything, and you are good at mixing
colors, try some acryllic craft paint in small bottles from craft stores
(white is rarely REALLY white) - mix it and dab on lightly with a blunt
brush well squeezed out.

Try one of those Mr. Clean cleaning sponges. Don't know if it will work,
but they seem to do a great job on most other things so it probably won't
hurt.

Doug | 2009-12-21 | 10:29:47 AM wrote:

Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

I get clients asking about that all the time. I've found only two
solutions:

1) Spray paint the entire ceiling. You'll never match both the color
and texture of the popcorn. Spraying is the only practical method--all
the others will cause the popcorn to come off.

2) Remove the popcorn, replace it with normal texture, then paint.

--
Steve Bell
New Life Home Improvement
Arlington, TX USA

On Dec 21, 10:29*am, Doug wrote:
Our house has a white flocked ceiling, which is pretty nice. In the
areas right around the ceiling HVAC vents, the flocking has gotten
discolored over the years, partly because of dust that can be vacuumed
off, but partly because of dust or stain that will not come off that
easily. What are my options?

I'm pretty sure I can't just wash this stuff. Much too delicate. I
really don't want to scrape it off and reapply. Partly the bother, and
partly because any freshly flocked spot will almost certainly look
mismatched. No, I DO NOT want to redo the whole ceiling!

Light touch-up with flat spray paint? Spray on some bleach? Similar
concerns about mismatching, but there are strategies for trying to
make it blend in with the rest of the ceiling. I'm not looking for
perfection, here. Just a cleaner ceiling.

Is "flocked" the same as what is called "popcorn" ceiling?

Is "flocked" the same as what is called "popcorn" ceiling?

It's the stuff with big bumps. Sure ... "popcorn".

Actually, I tried a hand spray bottle of full strength laundry bleach,
and I was not displeased with the result. It's not clean, but the
stain is lighter. On the impact/effort scale, it rates pretty high.
I'm wondering if a second application will make any difference.

On Dec 21, 8:56*pm, Doug wrote:
Is "flocked" the same as what is called "popcorn" ceiling?

It's the stuff with big bumps. Sure ... "popcorn".

Actually, I tried a hand spray bottle of full strength laundry bleach,
and I was not displeased with the result. It's not clean, but the
stain is lighter. On the impact/effort scale, it rates pretty high.
I'm wondering if a second application will make any difference.

I was going to suggest that 2 sprays would be better than one.