painting over green "drywall"?
We're building a home. The drywall guys put up the green drywall (like you put tile over) on one wall all the way up to the ceiling ...... we do not want to put tile all the way to the ceiling (we're talking vaulted ceiling here!). Can we successfully paint the green drywall or do we just need to insist that they come back and put the correct drywall high up on the wall?
You would prime and paint it like you would any other type of drywall. You should use an acrylic undercoater and finish with 2 coats of an acrylic eggshell which will hold better in a high moisture area than a flat will.
Green drywall is the same for painting as normal drywall. The green is not, say, a water-repellant dye in the outer paper. The green color merely is the industry standard for signifying that the inside board is made with more water-resistant gypsum materials than ordinary drywall. (If you notice a cross-section, the inside is brownish in color, as opposed to white; but you can't see that cross-section when it is on the wall, so they use green paper.)
It also is a GOOD idea to have it in, say, a bathroom or a kitchen even where you do not have tile so that it can resist moisture or steam. The builder would probably snicker a bit at you if you made that request. :-) He could use it throughout your house with no problem; it would just be more expensive.