Best way to get a water stain off the ceiling?

Besides the obvious of fixing leak and letting it dry out, kilz primer works well

quote:

---

It appears melted snow seeped through the roof and stained a couple of spots in one of my back rooms. What’s the best way to remove the stands? I’ve never had a water stain on the ceiling before.

---

First off, let everything dry out before attempting to fix it.

You can't remove the stain. You will have to use a primer/sealer, and then paint it. Hopefully, you have some ceiling paint leftover in a bucket which might touch up and blend perfectly. If the leftover paint doesn't match, and it's obvious where you touched up, you'll have to paint the whole ceiling in that room for it all to match properly.

ETA: If you still have snow in your attic, get up there and remove it before the rest of it melts causing more water stains on your ceiling.

quote:

---

You might get by with priming and spot painting on a newer home but you would need the original color paint...as in did you save the left over paint.

---

This hardly ever works, especially if the surface painted was done a while ago. Paint will change color slightly once applied and the stuff in the cans hardly ever matches it even if done just several months prior.


Best you can hope for is to let it dry completely, use Kilz to cover the stain and if you have the same paint hit it good where the stain is and then lightly brush it out from there to try to feather it in to the rest of the ceiling so it's not so obvious.

Stopping source of water is first step. After that Kilz or Zinser -2-3 and top coat to match surrounding area. I prefer Kilz but they both work about the same. You can do the same thing with bulls eye shellack....it is the ingredient in both Kilz and Zinser that seals stains. It is actually a product of the same company that makes Zinser but its just shellac...Kilz has the same stuff in it only a different name.

quote:

---

There's no washing it out

---

even on newer homes it is hell without the paint. I had an AC event. Primed the starting brushing paint. By the time I had softened the edges over half the space I still saw it and painted the whole ceiling in there

quote:

---

If it's an older house you will probably wind up repainting the whole ceiling in that room.

---

Here's a pro tip.You do not need to repaint the entire ceiling. Once the stain is dry, use a high quality primer. It may take a few coats. After the stain has been hidden by the primer, go to your local big box store and get a bunch of different individual white swatches....maybe 15 or 20 different white shades. Next, press each white swatch against the ceiling until you find the one that virtually disappears when placed against the original ceiling color. Go back to the store and buy a sample in FLAT sheen. Paint your stained area and you should be good to go.

I'll be following this thread. I had some roof leaks as well as the water heater bust in my ceiling. Once my roof is finished then that is my next project

In cases such as these, I would recommend 2-3 coats of original Kilz. White can.Thicker than I would normally apply. Seems to work best on stubborn bleeds.

quote:

---

I saw it on YouTube and didn't think it would work, but I am now a believer.

---

Me, too. Great result.