The roller is an indispensable tool when carrying out painting work. Its use can significantly reduce the time of painting and get a high-quality painted surface.
Features and Benefits
The paint roller appeared in the middle of the last century and firmly occupied its niche in the construction market. The popularity of the tool is due to its simplicity of design, low cost, ease of use and high quality of painting.
The principle of operation of the roller is to print the paint absorbed into the fur coat when rolling the cylinder along the wall or ceiling.
Coloring is characterized by uniformity of application and a complete absence of streaks, which, in comparison with a brush, makes the tool more attractive.
The high consumer demand is explained by the following undeniable advantages of the tool:
- Ease of use … Working with the roller is not difficult even for inexperienced painters and allows you to achieve a satisfactory result, spending a minimum amount of time. The tool is especially effective on flat and large areas: walls, floors, ceilings and facades.
- Economical material consumption … It is especially well felt when painting large areas and can significantly reduce costs.
- Color uniformity allows you to get a perfect surface, not inferior in quality to the surface painted with a spray gun.
- Using embossed rollers gives wide scope for creativity and helps in the implementation of bold design ideas. With their help, you can form relief patterns, apply an ornament and imitate the texture of any finishing material. The roller is indispensable when working with stencils: it tightly presses the template to the wall and does not allow paint to flow under it. As a result, it is possible to get a drawing with even borders and clear outlines of the silhouette.
Versatility… The roller can be used to apply any type of paint and varnish products, including fire retardant and electrically conductive enamels. The design of the tool allows you to add an extension to the handle and work on the ceiling and other remote surfaces
The disadvantages of rollers include the impossibility of high-quality staining of hard-to-reach places and the complexity of work on uneven surfaces.
It is also necessary to control the intensity of the tool wetting in the paint - if the roller absorbs too much emulsion, then there is a possibility of enamel splashing and dripping from the handle.
Device
The roller design is a frame curved in the shape of a seven. The top is called a tube and serves as the base for a rotating cylinder called a "bobbin".
An absorbent coat is attached to the top of the bobbin, which can be either glued to it or fixed with plugs. The bobbin itself can be attached to the frame using a frame or clasp method. The first one is distinguished by the presence of a bearing, a lock, plastic plugs and fixing the fur coat using stoppers. The second is typical for more expensive reusable designs and, if necessary, involves a complete replacement of the cylinder and fur coat.
Dimensions (edit)
The rollers differ from each other in the length of the cylinder, the handle and the diameter of the core. The smallest representatives of this tool are mini-rollers, the length of which does not exceed ten, and the section is one and a half centimeters. They are used for painting hard-to-reach places and corner joints.
Medium models are represented by a 15 cm cylinder with a diameter of 1.5 to 4 cm and are the most demanded species. Maxi rollers are up to 27 cm long and 69 mm in diameter … They are used for professional painting of large areas.
The roller handle can be from 30 to 50 cm in length … When painting remote surfaces, an elongating telescopic tube, which is fixed to the handle and reaches a length of up to 4 meters.
Also, the rollers differ in the length of the pile. The absorbency of the coat and the ability to apply the tool to a certain type of surface depends on this parameter.
For example, for smooth bases, a roller with a pile length of 1 to 1.2 cm is suitable, and for rough and problematic bases it is better to choose a pile of 2 cm.
Views
On the modern construction market, rollers are presented in a large assortment. The classification of models is based on the following criteria: the material of the coat, the method of supplying paint, the purpose of the tool and compatibility with the paint.
Absorbent coats are represented by the following materials:
Foam rubber… The advantage of this type is the quick recovery of the forms and good elasticity of the material. The polyurethane coat provides uniform color and prevents bubbles from appearing on the wall surface. The downside of foam rubber is incompatibility with some paints containing aggressive chemical components. Foam rollers are suitable for working with water-based emulsions
- Polyamide … It is an artificial fiber with good retention properties and helps to evenly distribute the colorants over the surface of the base. The rollers are highly durable and recyclable. The length of the pile varies from 8 to 20 mm and is chosen independently depending on the surface to be painted and the type of paint. For enamels with a glossy sheen, it is recommended to choose rollers with a thin nap, while painting problematic and rough walls requires a long and thick nap. Polyamide is suitable for all types of water-based paints.
- Velours … The fur coat is a velor fabric based on polyamide fiber and is used for the final painting of smooth surfaces. The velor model is not prone to rolling and splashing of the enamel. A rag roller is used for water-dispersion, oil and alkyd compositions.
Natural fur… Sheepskin is used for the manufacture of fur coats. It has excellent absorbency and contributes to the uniform distribution of the coloring compositions over the working surface. It is applied on all types of surfaces using all types of paints, except for lime. The disadvantage is the likelihood of leaving the villi on the painted surface
- Faux fur coat … Differs in high performance and reusability. Suitable for painting decorative surfaces, it is produced in modifications with various lengths and density of pile.
- Felt … A versatile material suitable for all types of enamels and surfaces.
According to their purpose, rollers are of the following types:
Models for wall and facade decoration with a wide focus… The models are available in three sizes and have a uniform fleecy surface. They are used for painting flat surfaces, making stencils and rolling pasted wallpaper
Narrow textured models… These are products with a relief surface, capable of creating three-dimensional patterns, symmetrical patterns and perfectly imitating various textures. They are used to create artistic images in the implementation of any interior solutions
The cylinder can be made of rubber, plastic, polyethylene or foam rubber.
Wooden models are often used to decorate children's rooms. They are distinguished by the clarity of the formed relief, complete environmental safety and the possibility of reusable use.
The structured cushion can be made by yourself. To do this, it is enough to wind several ropes of different thicknesses around the cylinder. As a result of staining with such a roller, a pattern is obtained that is very reminiscent of the texture of a tree bark.
And to get a frosty pattern, just wrap the roller with a damp cloth. With a leather roller, you can apply Venetian plaster, create beautiful imitations of marble surfaces and achieve smooth transitions between the relief of the pattern and the wall.
Thanks to modern technologies, the production of rollers with automatic ink supply … They are equipped with a spacious storage tank and dispenser. The products are equipped with a piston system that ensures a constant supply of enamel. When using such mechanized devices, additional pallets and containers for paint are not required. The use of automatic models is very convenient when painting hard-to-reach and especially remote sections of walls..
How to choose?
When choosing a roller for self-painting walls, you should not purchase wide models. They are designed for professional work, and it will be difficult to cope with them without possession of certain painting skills. Better prio wrap around a medium-sized roller for basic painting and a small model for painting wall joints, niches and hard-to-reach areas … You should also pay attention to the presence of seams: rough seams can leave marks and streaks.
The color of the roller should not be dark. In case of loss, dark villi will be too noticeable on a light background. When painting a wall with two or more colors, you need to purchase a separate roller for each shade. This will get rid of multi-colored stains on the painted surface in case of poor-quality washing of the coat.
You should also grasp the handle of the tool and make sure all fingers fit. Using a short handle will lead to excessive muscle tension in the hand and rapid fatigue.
Immediately before starting painting work, you should roll over masking tape. This will collect loose and loose lint and help prevent them from falling on the wall.
For a more uniform impregnation of the fur coat, you need to use special containers-cuvettes and thoroughly blot the roller on a special platform. When painting tall spaces, you need to purchase an additional telescopic extension with a clip.
For information on how to choose a paint roller, see the next video.
How to wash?
To clean the water-based latex paint from the roller, pour warm water into a large bucket and add a glass of fabric softener. If the desired composition is not found, you can use dishwashing liquid. Then it is necessary to carefully squeeze the roller and place it in the solution. When spinning, you can use newspapers spread out on the floor. To remove excess paint, you need to roll a roller over them in all directions.
Keep the instrument in the solution for two to three minutes. After that, the roller is thoroughly washed and rinsed under a stream of warm water. Rinsing should be continued until the water escaping from it becomes clear. Then the tool should be wrung out with paper towels and hung up to dry.
To remove residual oil paint, you need to blot the roller with old newspapers, and then place the tool in a container with alcohol. After the paint has dissolved, it should be taken out, wiped dry and placed to dry.
The acrylic paint should be washed off the coat under warm running water immediately after the end of the work.
If the remains of the enamel have time to dry, then it will be impossible to clean the surface without the use of gasoline, acetone or white spirit.
For high-quality cleaning of the roller from the remnants of two-component enamels, you can use a universal industrial product that contains gasoline and alcohol. Any kind of paint can be removed with this solution.