bump!

bump again, someone must have painted an acoustical ceiling??! Help!

I assume you're talking about painting the grid and not the tiles themselves.

We're doing this right now -- painting the metal ceiling grid in two rooms. But we just started, so I have no idea of the long-term reliability. We're using a Behr Ultra flat paint/primer combo in Ultra Pure White. It was expensive, but I'm hoping that it will pay off with better hiding and adhesion.

One room has an ugly early-80s off-white grid. That room is about two-thirds done. The other room has a black (!) grid with white tiles. It's flippin ugly :(

The off-white grid has a sort of texture to it. So far the paint seems to be adhering with no problem. The black grid has a much smoother finish. In both cases, I'll clean the grid with water and a paper towel before painting, just to remove dust.

I'm replacing the tiles in the off-white room. They used to have these kind-of carpeted tiles with fiberglass insulated backing. They're purple/gray in colour. I'm replacing them with white Armstrong Oasis tiles.

Thanks globe199! Yep I'm talking about the grids, not tiles. So you agree going flat makes the most sense, hopefully the Behr paint/primer combo works out, makes sense to do it all in one paint vs. separate primer and paint processes.

Also...I find that I rarely need to fully remove tiles to do work above the ceiling. I usually just push the tile up and out of the way. So I'm guessing that at least in my case, the tiles won't have a lot of opportunity to come in contact with the painted surface of the grid.

Definitely wouldn't use anything other than flat, since you don't want distracting reflections.

These suspended ceilings are both a blessing and a curse :)