Besides paint brushes, paint rollers are still the most common means of paint application for homeowners and do-it-yourselfers. Even professional painters, who use airless paint sprayers for new construction and exterior painting, still use paint rollers for interior painting, especially on occupied dwellings and offices. In these cases, the overspray from paint sprayers is unacceptable.
A high quality paint roller will make a difference in the quality and quantity of your work, just like a high quality paint brush will. Specifically, the differences you will see in a high quality paint roller include:
On this last point, let me say that while many do-it-yourselfers buy inexpensive roller covers and throw them away after one usage, paint rollers and covers really aren’t all that hard to clean and reuse. A good quality roller cover, which is cleaned after every use, can last for years. I have a lambskin cover that I bought more than 20 years ago. While I haven’t used it constantly in that time, I have used it for a number of projects. I am currently repainting my entire house, inside and out, and expect to complete the entire project with this one roller, then clean it up and keep it for the next project.
I am a big fan of lambskin paint roller covers. Personally, even though I was an engineer, I find it hard to believe that man can improve upon what nature creates. However, in all fairness, I must say that some of the newer synthetic materials that have been created outperform lambskin in all but one important area, that of life expectancy. Lambskin roller covers are still the longest lasting on the market.
For the sake of this article, I’ve stuck to 1/2-inch nap roller covers. If you are painting a slick surface, this is too long, you’d need a 1/4-inch nap; likewise it is too short for painting brick or cinder block, you’d need a 3/4-inch nap. However, for the most common paintjob, that of painting textured interior walls, this is the best length. Check out our list of the best paint roller covers in 2022.