Bathroom Ceiling

I painted my bathroom ceiling last weekend. It turned out to be a lot easier than I was expecting. Painting inside is SO much easier than painting the outside of the house!

I have a problem with paint fumes making me sick, so I used one of the new low VOC paints. I was very happy with the results, the fume levels were so low that with a bit of airing out I have had no problems.

The bathroom ceiling needed to be painted, as the paint had flaked off in a few spots, leaving bare plaster. Plus, I am just so sick of BEIGE.

Step 1: Remove all loose items from room, including curtains.
Step 2: Remove cover over hole in ceiling where old fan used to be, and remove cover from "bathroom buddy" heater/fan unit. My god, what a lot of dust I discovered! I'm glad I was wearing a dust mask.
Step 3: Scrub ceiling with scrubbing brush and sugar soap solution.
Step 4: Lightly sand ceiling to break surface on existing gloss paint (so that new paint will adhere). (Tools used: sanding block, sand paper, dust mask).
Step 5: Put down drop sheets kindly lent to me by mum. Two old worn out sheets, and a worn out heavy weight quilted theatre curtain.
Step 6: Apply first coat of paint. Allow 2 hours to dry.
Step 7: Apply second coat of paint. It is now getting dark, so wait until next morning to review job.

Step 8: Now that I can tell which cracks haven't been covered over by paint, use "builder's bog" to fill cracks. Allow to dry for 30 minutes, then sand.
Step 9: Paint still looks patchy in daylight, so apply third coat of paint. Wait 2 hours.

Step 10: Apply second coat over areas filled with "builder's bog". Looks good now! Wait 48 hours before using room again.
Step 11: (48 hours later). Put cover back over hole where old fan used to be. Replace cover over "Bathroom buddy". Replace loose items. Job Done!

Next task: paint walls.

Before (and yes, the spots are stains on the ceiling):

After: