Paint Rollers - Advice for an amateur please

[TonyWarrington]

Been doing a lot of emulsion painting on a house renovation for my daughter. I am getting a satisfactory finish using rollers, however trying to improve speed and finish - guess that will come with practice. One of the things that really bugs me is the time I have to spend cleaning rollers after use.

Have done a quick search on this forum and seen some interesting comments.

I tend to use the low cost rollers from the likes of Homebase etc. I wonder if there would be any real benefit in buying more expensive rollers. For instance could I get a better finish? would cleaning be any easier etc.?

Would anyone care to give any recommendations on what to look for etc

Thanks

 

[breezer]

try using google for dandy roller cleaner.

first saw it on QVC roller clean ready for use again in around 30 seconds

 

[foxhole]

If you are doing lots of decorating you can seal roller in a polythene bag between coats , will survive a week at least like this, nothing is cheap in Homebase.

 

[FredFlintstone]

There's a little tube thingy that fits tightly over the roller and squeezes it out really well when pushed to the other end.

I just dunk my roller in a big flexi bucket of water, give it a bit of a clean by hand and then use the tube thingy on it, dunk it, use the tube thingy again from the other direction and then run it under clean water again before a final use of the tube thingy. Only takes a couple of minutes and sleeve is ready for use again.

regards

Fred

 

[TonyWarrington]

Breezer That looks fine and dandy (Sorry couldn't resist!). Looks like it uses gravity to spin the paint out. Perhaps I could rig something up myself using a drill - probably get told of in electric section though

foxhole Have tried wrapping in supermarket bags but only for overnight. Looks like a little more care with sealing and I wont feel the urge to clean so often!

FredFlintstone Your "little tube thingy" sounds interesting. Have searched google for this but only came up with rude websites Do you have any more info?

Thanks for your comments guys

 

[spice]

The roller will stay fresh for days and days if you wrap it in carrier bags, but the trick is to place your roller in a bag, then place that bag in another bag, and to keep it extra moist, then place it in another bag and wrap or tape the handles round the roller handle.
carrier bags have holes in them, so by placing them in 2-3 bags, stops the air from the holes drying out your roller, the same applies to your brush.

 

[breezer]

TonyWarrington, it does use centrifugal force and yes you do stick it in your mains drill.

but it really does work and you really can clean a tube in 30 seconds (or if you forget to hold it in a box, paint the room in 30 seconds)

 

[Ratter]

You might like to try a Hamilton Perfection Premium roller. Not cheap but worth it IMHO.

They are woven pile which claims to give better finish and fast coverage because it picks up more paint. They have certainly improved my finish but it could be because I am a c**p painter anyway.

You can buy them in B & Q now. Their brushes are excellent too - never lose bristles.

I've also given up on most sorts of emulsion apart from Dulux Trade - costs a bit more but cheaper in the long run because you need less coats.

 

[TonyWarrington]

Spice, Breezer, Ratter. Thanks for your replies.

Breezer. don't know what I was thinking of as you say Centrifugal force not gravity. Like the thought of not putting it in a box and painting whole room in 30 seconds - guess you would have to run round quickly to prevent an outline of yourself on the wall

Ratter, Think I will give the Hamilton a try - I know that I am a bit c**p as well - still I am improving
I know what you mean about cheap emulsion, bought some once took about 4-5 coats to cover what the better stuff would do in 2!!

 

[FredFlintstone]

Here you go Tony

Only problem is that this one is for 1.5" diameter roller sleeves and I prefer to use 1.75" diameter sleeves and I haven't found one for the larger size.

When painting, the most important thing to remember is no to apply too much paint. The probem with being conservative with the amount of paint you apply is that you risk needing to do a third coat. However, even though it's a pain in the bum, you'd be much better applying three thin coats than two coats which are too thick.

regards

Fred

 

[TonyWarrington]

Thanks Fred.

I think you guessed my problem - only really want to do 2 coats therefore quite possible that I am overdoing it

Regards
Tony

 

[Zampa]

You memtion 'lost cost' rollers from homebase....a lot of these DIY stores are far more expensive than trade centres

A woven pile roller sleeve is excellent for emuslion good paint pick up and lighter than the knitted pile types..also a lot easier to clean out

One thing you should always do when your cleaning em out is scrape the excess paint out of them first..it will save washing time.

Also regards storage...Plastic bags are fine for over night but make sure you leave them in a cool place

 

[Ed the Duck]

Hi everyone this is a bit late only logged in for the first time today.

Just to say that if you use cling film to wrap your roller in then hang it up in a plastic bag it will easily last for a week.