What type of roller is right for you?

Rollers are ideal for painting large areas, especially ceilings. They are fast and easy to use. There are many types of rollers suitable for different painting tasks: foam, mohair or sheepskin, there are short pile, medium pile and long pile to choose from. The roller you choose actually depends on the type of paint you use. It is not recommended to use foam rollers for ordinary latex paint, because their sponge texture will produce bubbles in the paint film, and then the bubbles will burst, leaving pits and orange peel effects.

Deep pile roller

Deeper pile rollers do not necessarily require more paint on the smooth surface. The longer the pile, the more obvious the surface texture (stipple) becomes. You can hide well at the top of the stipple, but not at the bottom, and you will end up with unacceptable surface textures. A shorter, denser pile roller will carry more paint and provide a better finish.

Orange peel

Walls that have been brushed many times with a roller will form a surface texture or "orange peel." When surfaces like this are repaired and sanded smooth before repainting, they should be "spotted" when they are applied with the primer, otherwise they will be obvious under the new topcoat. Stipple painting can be done by using the end of the brush with dabbing technique or semi-dry roller. Often more than one application is required.

Rollback

Rollback is a technique in which the painted surface is re-rolled before the first coat has dried. The open time of alkyd paint at 70ºF (20ºC) (before the paint solidifies) is approximately 30 minutes. Rolling back the alkyd resin for more than 30 minutes can cause excessive "stippling" because there is not enough solvent in the film to allow proper flow and leveling. Due to the short opening time (less than 5 minutes), the fluidity and leveling properties are poor, so it is difficult to rewind the latex paint. The latex film rolled into a partially dried layer will leave a rough surface texture, which can be seen when the paint dries. It is a common professional technique to apply the first coat of airless spray and then roll back immediately.