Selecting a Roller
Professional painting contractors use several types of rollers. For most house painting projects we use a 9” frame usually the Wooster Shurlock. However, for big walls or ceilings nothing saves more time and energy than painting with an 18” roller frame and cover. An 18” roller frame is more expensive as are the 18” roller covers, so for a home owner it is hard to justify the expense. For any professional painting contractor not using an 18” paint roller, we recommend it highly.
The Purdy Pro Extra Roller System has a 1 ¾” diameter rather than a 1 ½” that standard paint roller frames have. This means only Purdy Pro Extra roller covers will fit. The advantage is the extra surface area for the nap means it holds more paint and will cover more surface area per load of paint. Pro Extra roller covers are available in several nap sizes and materials. The Purdy Pro Extra roller system is a little more expensive than standard rollers and roller covers, but definitely worth the cost if painting large walls in your house.
We have used wire frame rollers but find that the Wooster Shurlock lasts longer and spins better after several uses than a wire frame roller. However, for occasional house painting projects a good roller frame is not as critical.
A word on mini rollers – Mini rollers can be extremely useful for house painting. They can eliminate a lot of brush work and are basically a necessity for painting behind radiators or toilets. On a recent exterior painting project we used mini rollers to cover 95% of the surface and hardly needed a brush at all. We use 4” and 6” mini rollers. For the occasional painter it might be useful to have a 4” mini roller frame with a long handle for getting into hard to reach spots.
