What's the point with the little paint rollers

[so]

I haven't painted in awhile and I see everyone using those little paint rollers. They must be good for something--what is it?

[deadgoose]

Great for trim work. You still need to cut some stuff in with a brush. I also use them for putting on wallpaper paste in the joint/overlap area. Also very handy for doing areas that are "tight" like over doors and windows where the regular roller won't conveniently fit.

[Sjouke Burry]

Painting. :)

[HeyBub]

That works, but in general one should avoid painting from the can: Oxygen is the enemy of paint!

Assuming latex paint, when ready to return the can of paint to storage, follow these procedures to mitigate oxygen destruction:

1. Lay a piece of plastic over the upturned lid (cling-wrap, bit of plastic bag, etc.).
2. Spray the plastic with PAM (original, not the garlic-flavored model)
3. Exhale into the can three times (to displace the oxygen with CO2)*
4. Hammer on lid with the plastic.
5. Invert can and store upside-down.

The PAM will migrate to the top of the paint and form a thin oil barrier against any remaining oxygen in the can.

--------

• Or a squirt of nitrogen or argon gas (found in all well-equipped workshops).

[norminn]

Great for small projects. Also good for doors and trim, followed by brushing.

[Jeff Thies]

No one I know is willing to risk step 5. I wonder if spraying a bit of PAM in the can would do the same trick.

Nice set of hints you previously posted. I was impressed with not only them, but how many you remembered. Got a hard copy somewhere.

Jeff

[Jeff Thies]

Bought some haven't used them yet (long handle). How do they hold paint? I need to paint the soffits (sp?) and eaves. My painter friend said she only used them for painting behind toilets.

Jeff

[Bob Villa]

Spot touch-up and trim.

[jamesgangnc]

I used them for fiberglass work. Wetting out the cloth.

[HeyBub]

The presenter had a 4x7" card on each seat labeled "Tips". I wrote down the ones that impressed me. Of course that turned out to be unnecessary as he sold autographed copies of his book at the end of the show and I bought one ($20). It's the same book one could buy at Home Depot (for the same price). Lotsa good t80

[HeyBub]

Lotsa good tips. Here's some more:

• Use a ladder that FACES your work; never one that you have to paint to your side.

• Sheets and the like are poor drop cloths - the paint soaks through. Best is canvas with plastic backing. The canvas absorbs the paint and the plastic backing prevents soak through. Giant plastic sheeting is also good.

• Brush & roller spinner. I finally got one via Ebay. I did go to my local Sherwin-Williams store looking for a brush spinner and a Pantone color strip or wheel. "Don't have those" said the clerk. "Where do you suggest I try," I asked, "maybe a auto parts store or an unsanitary Taco stand?" He shrugged.

• I've tried the method of cleaning brushes from latex paint using a generous dollop of fabric softener in a pail of water. Works swell! The brush smells nice, too. I've also tried his three-step method of cleaning brushes used for oil based paints (10 second swirls in 1. Mineral spirits,

1. 50-50 mineral spirits & alcohol, 3. 100% alcohol). This technique also is impressive.

• Usually wall painting involves two people: one to do the cut-in at the ceiling, another right behind to roll the wall. This painting over the cut-in while still wet prevents a sometimes visible line where the cut-in meets the wall paint.

• When rolling paint, an adjustable pole is quite nice. It can be retracted when doing, for example, the inside of a closet or a hallway.

• You can make a swell paint container out of an abandoned milk jug. Cut a largish hole in the opposite side of the handle for your brush to reach in. The spout acts like a funnel to return unused paint to the original can. You can even hang your brush through the spout with a nail in the brushes' handle hole.

[Cindy Hamilton]

Isn't that a little slippery on non-carpeted floors?

I've been using red rosin paper taped down to my hardwood floors with painter's tape.

Cindy Hamilton

[Higgs Boson]

Sounds great. I don't use PAM or analogs.

Any other kind of fat/grease/whatever that I can apply to the plastic?

BTW: Should steps 2 and 3 PRECEDE Step 1?

TIA

HB

[HeyBub]

Yeah, that too. The point was that bed sheets and the like give a false sense of security.

(Small gloat: Not long ago, I bought two 4x12' plastic-backed canvas drop cloths at a church garage sale for $0.75 each.)

[norminn]

I've read advice to lay the sheet of plastic wrap onto the surface of the paint. I've never tried that, and just closing the lid very tightly (a few smacks with a mallet) works fine for me. If I'm going to store paint for quite a while, I place the can into a plastic bag so that it is less apt to rust. I've had food cans rust through on the shelf and don't want that to happen with paint.

[HeyBub]

If you can find an oil that comes in a spray can, sure you can substitute. Perhaps you could put a couple of drops of sewing machine oil directly into the can - it should migrate and spread to the top of the paint.

And you can perform the steps in any order you like, so long as the result is the same.

[Jeff Thies]

Haven't seen those yet. I've got a heavy duty canvas, and from what I've see of my painter friends old canvas is that the holes worn through are the biggest problem!

A pair of 4x12 sounds like a good combo. One alone is good for walls and two overlapped is good for the ceiling.

Jeff

[Steve B]

For painting small areas, such as door edges, trim, etc. I have come to like them, as some of the textures of them give very little stipple and bubbles when used with a little Floetrol. I have even come to like the little Vee shaped ones for corners. I say "come to" because for a long time, I thought they were just doodads to make money for the inventor. Then my wife started bringing them home and using them, and for lots of finer work, they are the cat's meow.

Steve

Heart surgery pending? Read up and prepare.

[Shaun Eli]

Storing paint- I just pound the lid back on and store the can upside- down. For the first week I put it (inverted) in a bucket so if it leaks I'll know about it.

So far I've done this with more than a dozen cans and only one leaked. Also have used 10 year old paint and it was just fine.

Copyright 2011 by Shaun Eli. All rights reserved.

[Colbyt]

They are the only roller I use anymore. I buy them in bulk from a local paint store and throw them away when done. The ones I buy are the longer nap for semi-rough surfaces. I use them everywhere.

I painted all the trim and the gable ends of a house last summer using them. Roll it on fast and easy smooth with a brush. I did this for the oil based primer and the latex top coat.

We did the same method on some 50 year aluminum siding about 4 years ago. Painted is never as smooth as the baked on fish but it turned out darn good.

Do keep it mind, I don't buy or use cheap paint. Ben Moore is about all I use.