What makes "ceiling paint" different?

cieling paint is realy just a flat white paint... its just labeled as cieling paint through most manufacturers.

Ceiling Paint Vs Wall Paint

Most ceiling paints are a flat or matte finish latex paint. Flat is normally used on ceilings to show less reflection and minimize imperfections, paint roller marks, blemishes, etc. Quality ceiling paints are made to be splatter resistant as you are painting overhead. Many ceiling paints are not a true white. some will have a slight grayish or bluish cast, others will have a slight umber cast. This makes ceiling paint marketable as non-yellowing or able to hold it's color longer. It should be noted however that if you prefer a flat finish on your walls, a quality ceiling paint like Porter Paints Silken Touch Decorator White Ceiling paint makes a great wall paint as well. It is actually a better quality paint than most flat finish "wall" paints on the market.

There are a lot of good answers here already.

Ceiling paints are "dead" flat (absolutely no sheen) paints.

Many wall flat paints, particularly the better quality wall flat paints, actually have a low angle sheen to them. These paints have more binder to them to permit them to be washed without breaking down. The higher binder percentage also gives these flat paints a slight low angle sheen.

Ceilings have a lot of light from windows etc... shinning across them, this accentuates imperfections in the drywall (or plaster) of the ceiling, as well as imperfections in the paint application on the ceiling. A "dead" flat paint hides lapping marks better and roller directional pattern (as well as roller marks and other application imperfections) better than a "standard" wall flat paint.

I too, do not like a lot of the ceiling paints that are out in the marketplace. Many of them are thick, dry too fast, and have poor hiding. I too, prefer to use a "builder's flat" paint for ceilings. New construction flat paints are made to be touched up. The "flatness" of a paint helps in touch up - therefore you will find that many new construction paints are very flat and work well for ceilings.

Use a spatter resistant roller cover such as the "soft woven" covers made by Sherwin Williams or something similar. There is nothing that is absolutely "spatter free" so still cover up anything you don't want spattered and wear "paint clothes" when doing the painting.

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RE:

What makes "ceiling paint" different?

Within a given brand, is ceiling paint somehow different in composition from flat wall paint?

Matte White Paint

A few correct answers here already. Ceiling paint is a base flat paint that is formulated to be non reflective as far as showing no shiny spots when lights are shone directly at it. This gives the "soft" effect with lighting, rather than the "Kmart" look.

It is also made to mix with additives such as ceiling popcorn or texture. It covers imperfections well, as opposed to satins or semi-gloss paints.

It is usually repainted rather than cleaned if spots develop.

its flatter then traditional flat wall paint, making it less reflective. Im not really sure that you would truly notice a difference between the flat wall, or ceiling..you can use wall paint on the ceiling, but its not recommended to use ceiling paint on the wall, as you can't clean it off very well.

Usually ceiling paint is a flat and a lower quality paint since durability is not a concern. If you are spraying it, cheap flat works fine. If you are rolling it, I like a higher quality and thicker paint that does not splatter or drip as much. There are also some of them that are a different color wet (usually light purple), but dry white so you can see where you have rolled so you do not miss spots.

Ceiling paint is very low quality paint. It is never quite white, it always looks a little gray. It doesn't cover very well and doesn't level well either. It dries to a rough texture. I NEVER use ceiling paint. I paint ceilings with a flat white wall paint. The cheapest wall paint is better than any ceiling paint.

Nope, it is the same paint. Usually you use "flat" on the ceiling as opposed to semi gloss, etc.