Base Coat

• 1). Tape lightweight plastic dropcloths to the tops of your walls at the ceiling line to prevent any paint from dripping on the walls.
  
  
• 2). Cover the toilet, floor, countertops and any other exposed areas with dropcloths.
  
  
• 3). Position a stepladder so you can comfortably reach the ceiling. In very small powder rooms, you may need to use a stool instead of a stepladder or stand on the toilet seat or counter.
  
  
• 4). Apply a basecoat of acrylic paint that is close to your metallic glaze in color. If you are using a steel or pewter metallic glaze, opt for medium- to dark-gray paint. For gold, use golden yellow, and for copper, use a reddish-brown or terra cotta color.
  
  
• 5). Brush the paint into the corners and edges of the ceiling and around any overhead light fixtures or vents, then use a roller with a 3/4-inch nap to the rest of the ceiling. For heavy ceiling textures, use a 1-inch nap roller. Allow the basecoat to dry completely.
  
  

Brushed Metal Look

• 1). Brush the glaze onto an area of the ceiling approximately 3 feet by 3 feet, but leave the edges irregular rather than square.
  
  
• 2). Drag a wallpaper brush across the glaze immediately while it is still wet, in a few long strokes, all moving from one edge of the ceiling out toward the unpainted area.
  
  
• 3). Brush glaze onto your next irregularly-shaped area immediately before the first area dries, and drag the wallpaper brush through the next area.
  
  
• 4). Continue adding wet areas and dry-brushing them with the wallpaper brush until your entire ceiling is covered in the streaked metallic glaze.
  
  
• 5). Brush on a second layer of glaze and streak it with a clean, dry wallpaper brush if too much of your basecoat color shows through the first layer.
  
  

Sponge Method

• 1). Brush a small amount of paint water onto a 3-foot by 3-foot area of your powder room ceiling. This will help the glaze flow more easily, but do not get it too damp or the glaze will drip off onto the floor.
  
  
• 2). Dampen a sea sponge, and then squeeze out as much water as possible.
  
  
• 3). Dip the sea sponge into your metallic glaze, and then blot it onto the ceiling. Press firmly to let the sponge fibers reach in between the textured parts of the ceiling. Continue dipping the sponge into your glaze and dabbing it on the ceiling, overlapping your previous sponge marks, applying a relatively solid coat of glaze. Use the sponge to blot up any drips as they form.
  
  
• 4). Wet the next area of the ceiling and continue working until you have an even coat of glaze over the entire ceiling. Blot up any areas that threaten to drip with a fresh, lightly-dampened sea sponge.