I was up at Miller Supply Co. in Pittsfield recently, picking up a framing project, and while I was there I got to talking with Steve Miller, the owner. Miller’s has been in Pittsfield for decades. I asked him whether something in an old store display was still available (it wasn’t), and then I thought to ask: What do you have left that is really really old? One of the items he pointed me to: Vintage Ceiling Glitter — in silver and gold. He has just a half dozen or so containers left and, “When it’s gone, it’s gone,” he said. Ceiling glitter: Yes, that was sure another “thing”.
But I have some pressing questions:
- Golly, how do you install it? I see from the plastic container cover that guns were used — that, I get. I can go online today and see guns for blowing ceiling glitter. But “throw by hand”? You must be kidding me. What a bloody mess? How in the world? You must not only need to wear goggles but also a zoot suit. And the stuff is expensive — wouldn’t you want to collect the excess and put it back in the gun? But then, that means your entire room would need to be 100% dust free, or else you would be also collecting dust, putting into a glitter gun and spraying it on the ceiling. Maybe there is no excess? Maybe it ALWAYS sticks, as long as the surface is tacky enough (see question below).
- Does it go on flat ceilings? Or popcorn ceilings?
- How do you ensure that the surface is all tacky? Do you spray paint fast with a spray gun canister thingie then quick quick quick get the glitter gun up and get the glitter on? Or, do you paint the ceiling with oil paint — which takes longer to dry and therefore is tacky longer — and then put up the glitter?
- What happens if you screw up?
This is a very intriguing product. I would love to figure out the answers to all these questions and maybe even try it — for the record — on a ceiling.
As you can see, this ceiling glitter was made, most recently at least, by Zinsser. That’s the same company that today is famous for all kinds of wall preparation solutions. I believe they are owned by Rust-Oleum. Sure enough, when I googled a bit trying to look for ceiling glitter sold today, I only found examples from Zinsser, and all the listings that I found were sold out.
Like I said, if you are in the market, you can buy the last remaining stock from Miller Art & Frame, Pittsfield, Mass. link is here >> http://www.millerartandframe.com/There is not much left, though.
UPDATE: Reader Mark quickly identified another source of ceiling glitter and glitter guns available today. He wrote:
Check this out: Glitter gun here (glitter also available on the site)
Everything you need, both professional (pneumatic) & DIY (hand-crank) guns available, as well as glitter…
Thank you, Mark!
When were glitter ceilings introduced?
Some readers questioned whether this effect was truly “mid-century” — but we are pretty sure we have provenance back to the mid-1950s, at least. Mark says that his true storybook ranch, built in ’56-57, had glitter on the ceilings (befitting a “Cinderella!”) and Ranger Smith says the foyer of his ’61 ranch had glitter on the ceilings, too. I would guess-timate that glitter ceilings were fairly popular throughout the 1960s and even into the Liberace 1970s, but then interest faded. Even so, they seem to have been continually available.
I NEEEEEEEEED a glitter ceiling!
The glitter chunks in my relatively-old Zinsser are pretty big – notably bigger than my crafty glitter. The label says that this ceiling glitter is all-aluminum.
I may use my two containers for artsy fartsy crafty projects. More likely, I will keep them in my my museum-of-Pittsfield-hoard. My precious……
Before they moved from North Street to their new (very googie) location on West Street, Miller’s carried a lot of wallpaper. After they moved, which is after I truly discovered them, I raided their basement for many rolls of their new old stock vintage wallpaper. I have installed several patterns in the house. I adore Miller Supply Co.
John says
Hi Pam,
A friend of mine had all his ceilings redone in his stucco home in Springfield,MA. He had glitter added to the living and dinning room ceilings. It looked beautiful at night when the light from the lamps reflected off it. When he had the fireplace lit it was especially beautiful as the light from the fire danced across the ceiling and it sparkled!!
AtomicHipster
Trish says
I remember my dad and brother spraying this on our ceilings when they built our house back in the 70’s. A lot of the glitter is gone now, but I haven’t seen another ceiling like it!
I think they used a gun and did so after the popcorn ceiling was blown and dried, but I do remember them being enclosed in a plastic curtain and working one small area at a time.
Mark VanCleve says
Check this out: https://www.warehousebay.com/catalog/glitter-gun-glitter/?osCsid=3e5e07bd7512ee8f7e2966e396400f17
Everything you need, both professional (pneumatic) & DIY (hand-crank) guns available, as well as glitter…
Dale says
It’s mixed with compound that was sprayed onto a ceiling for a light popcorn effect. And As an aside, I wouldn’t call anything with the modern Zinsser logo and a bar code ‘really really old.’ In fact just a google search shows it is still readily available.
http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/qa/ceiling-glitter.aspx
pam kueber says
I don’t think Zinsser makes it anymore. However, Mark has pointed us to another source!
Lauren says
You can still purchase this product in Home Depot up here in Michigan. I was swooning over it a few years ago. We don’t have popcorn/textured ceilings so it wouldn’t work for us. My father-in-law just installed ceiling glitter in a room (we were just talking about it on Christmas). He mentioned he had to work in sections. The paint had to be tacky. He said that throwing the glitter worked best. Second, using a roasting pan to toss the glitter and catch some of it. Third, the air gun. He said the gun made the glitter patchy. Hope that helps!
Lee says
My Aunt and Uncle had this in their new house back in the 60’s. As I recall the ceiling texture was sprayed on first and then the glitter was applied while the texture was still wet. I remember my Aunt was so proud of this ceiling and would show it to anyone who came to visit. Thank you for jogging my memory; I hadn’t thought of this in years!
Catherine says
Working in the paint dept at the Home Depot, it’s surprising how often we get asked if we have this. There are still a lot of the older style popcorn ceilings out there and if there is some kind of water damage from the roof, it makes it more difficult to patch if it has the glitter in it.
Also, fairly often, parents when painting their kids room, usually a girls, want to add glitter to the paint.
Steve says
This was on many ceilings in our neighborhood, which was built between 1960-1962. It was on the popcorn ceilings and added what I considered to be a special touch to the ceilings. You’d paint the ceiling, and while still wet, apply it – how, I don’t know – either of the methods described would work but would result in a lot of excess glitter being wasted. Regardless, it was something that was quite attractive as I remember in the 1960s subdivision of ranch homes I grew up in in Riverside, California. Hope that helps.
mcmgirl says
I used to love this stuff on my ceiling. We had it on all our ceilings in the house we were living in the 1970’s/early 80’s. If anyone is interested, it appears to be available through Amazon. Just search for gold ceiling glitter, or silver ceiling glitter on the Amazon site. Even clear ceiling glitter if you want. It is currently made by Bondex, & appears to be available. And the directions still read you can throw it on the ceiling to apply. Anyway, this looked so pretty when we had it. I love sparkle! And thanks, Pam, for bringing back some pretty memories for me.
gsciencechick says
I remember seeing this type of glitter on stucco ceilings.