Gloss paint on wood: anyone used a roller?

Leif

Thanks again. I will try a roller. I examined the door this morning after I gave a gloss coat last night, and it looks okay, but no more than okay. But the kitchen fitter who saw it did say something like "well it doesn't matter as it is the loft door" so I assume he was not impressed.

Jebrelli

Leif wrote: »

Thanks again. I will try a roller. I examined the door this morning after I gave a gloss coat last night, and it looks okay, but no more than okay. But the kitchen fitter who saw it did say something like "well it doesn't matter as it is the loft door" so I assume he was not impressed.

I've just painted some mdf cupboards in gloss with a small (4 inch) sponge roller - the finish was excellent, but I found that you had to maintain an even pressure when applying and go over the whole surface very gently once all the paint had been applied. Looks much better than if I'd used a brush and far quicker, but cleaning them out afterwards was a pain in the b*m!

deborah007

we have used a gloss roller in the past. you can buy packs of 5 or 10 very cheaply and so you can throw them away after you have finishes the painting to avoid the time intensive process of cleaning the roller.

It certainly makes life easier!!

D x

WestonDave

What paint are you using - I find the water based quick drying stuff is much harder to get a smooth finish on than the old fashioned oil based 16 hour drying stuff. Gloss rollers are good for doors - if you seal them in a plastic bag between coats it stops the paint setting so you can get more than one coat out of a roller without using a fortunes worth of cleaner. You then just bin them at the end. However I still think quality of paint is just as important.

Leif

Yes cleaning brushes is a nightmare. Very tedious and messy.

WestonDave wrote: »

What paint are you using - I find the water based quick drying stuff is much harder to get a smooth finish on than the old fashioned oil based 16 hour drying stuff. Gloss rollers are good for doors - if you seal them in a plastic bag between coats it stops the paint setting so you can get more than one coat out of a roller without using a fortunes worth of cleaner. You then just bin them at the end. However I still think quality of paint is just as important.

As I said in the top post, I am using one coat Dulux difficult surface primer (if bare hardboard shows), then one coat Dulux undercoat (oil based) and one coat Dulux professional gloss (oil based) and sanding with 150 grade sandpaper between coats. I am assuming Dulux will be decent.

I got a decent finish on some skirting board, so I think it is the size of the surface. I can go more slowly on skirting, and get more even strokes, but on a door the paint starts to dry before I finish so there is more of a time issue.

I checked the doors at work, and they are MUCH better than my attempt. And they are probably not up to domestic standard being in a workplace where decorating is not so good.

andrew-b wrote: »

As for gloss....yuk, satinwood or eggshell are nicer in the home.

I think gloss is going out of fashion, but I did eggshell on some skirting in the kitchen, disliked it, and top coated with gloss. I prefer gloss even tough it is less popular. Each to their own I guess.

Mayflower10cat

Another vote for gloss with a roller. Or proper, oil based eggshell. You get a lovely finish probably due to using more, but thinner, coats. Whereas with a brush I tend to slather it on and get annoying runs and drips. Agreed, for a panelled door you need to cut in with a brush first.

muckybutt

I use rollers a lot painting over grafitti on shop fronts, as said use the foam rollers for gloss and the fluffy ones for emulsion.

If you have lots of glossing to do its worth investing in a http://www.brushmate.co.uk/productsummary.html

Leif

In case anyone is interested, I bought some Harris simulated mohair mini rollers, and two Harris foam glass rollers. The mohair shed hairs all over the door. Dreadful. And the finish was very textured, not suitable for gloss in my view. Then I tried a foam roller with water based primer. Great. And again with a gloss top coat. Very easy to apply, a nice finish, not smooth, a sort of textured pattern but subtle, and quite nice. Not like rolled emulsion, more subtle. I found it incredibly quick to get a large amount of paint on, and spread over a large area, before it started getting sticky. Small bubbles are an issue but most go when I gently roll over slowly with no pressure. A roller would be a good way to get large amounts of paint on and then use a brush to get the final finish for people who prefer the brushed look.

The only issue is that cleaning a sponge that has been in gloss paint is horrible. So I think I will take the advice here from WestonDave, and place one in a plastic bag ready for the next day. Buy in bulk, use a few times, then discard. :T

Thanks to internet searches, it looks like my door painting nightmare might turn out to be not so bad after all.