Product spotlight

The importance of quality roller sleeves

Just like paintbrushes, roller sleeves are an essential piece of kit, and choosing the right one (or the wrong one) can significantly impact the results.

There’s no point in going out and buying the best paint products available and then applying them with substandard tools. Just like paintbrushes, roller sleeves are an essential piece of kit and come in all shapes, sizes and styles. Choosing the right one (or the wrong one) for the job can significantly impact the results.

There’s no point in going out and buying the best paint products available and then applying them with substandard tools. Just like paintbrushes, roller sleeves are an essential piece of kit and come in all shapes, sizes and styles. Choosing the right one (or the wrong one) for the job can significantly impact the results.

Matt Jones from PAL lends his expert advice on what makes a good roller, how to choose the right one for your job – and why that is so important.

Good versus bad roller sleeves

It’s all about premium woven fabric when it comes to good roller sleeves. Woven fabric fibres are individually secured to the backing using two pass-throughs in PAL rollers. This ‘double lock’ process results in a smooth, virtually lint-free paint finish. Because they’re shed-resistant, woven rollers can be used with confidence in enamels, primers and all paint finishes: flat, satin, semigloss and gloss.

As for a bad roller sleeve? Cheap polyester fabric that sheds easily will leave lint on the wall when painting – disaster. The same goes for the core: a plastic one won’t stand up to solvent paints and will lose its shape under pressure.

Choose quality, always

The two most important things for a great paint finish include using high-quality, premium Resene paint and choosing the right roller sleeve to match the paint type and surface. As using a quality roller sleeve ensures superior coverage, you’ll also manage to save time completing the project.

PAL roller sleeves use the best-sourced fabric and phenolic core and are proudly manufactured here in New Zealand. PAL draws on over 60 years’ experience in creating the very best applicators for Resene paint. We have worked with Resene over the years to develop sleeves that give the highest quality finish with their paints and that research has lead to the development of three unique fabrics that deliver superior performance. Resene has three exclusive fabrics that have come from this research program.

Fabric matters

Resene #1 / Contract Dacron 8mm (purple version)

This sleeve is recommended by Resene for all waterborne topcoats in broad wall areas. It delivers the recommended wet film thickness of 75 microns (mu) and leaves a fine orange peel texture effect on the wall. This orange peel texture is advantageous on walls and ceilings as it helps diffuse light, masking imperfections and alleviating critical light issues – this is a strong recommendation by both Resene and Master Painters New Zealand.

Resene #7 / PAL Contract Microfibre Hybrid

This sleeve gives coverage similar to a Resene #1 with the added benefits of a smoother, rounded orange peel texture. This sleeve is incredibly versatile and can be used in most smooth-surface areas where a smoother finish is desired, while still leaving some light rounded texture. This has become a go-to sleeve for many painters.

Resene #4 Microfibre Blend

Not all microfibre sleeves are equal and the Resene #4 is a high-density microfibre blend. The big difference with this sleeve is that it releases more paint to the substrate – approximately 50mu with Resene waterborne enamels. This means the paint can settle back into itself and will leave an ultra-smooth, close to spray-like finish.

Warning: As mentioned before, not all microfibre sleeves are equal and many on the market will only deliver one-third of the paint that Resene recommends for topcoats. It is for this very reason that Resene does not recommend microfibre for broad wall application. The Resene #4 is recommended for waterborne enamels on cabinetry, trims and doors.

Other fabrics offered in Resene ColorShops also include:

Mohair

The silky Angora goat hair woven together with synthetic fibres in these roller sleeves creates a smooth, glass like finish and resists matting.

• Contract Professional 5mm
• PAL #5
• Paint type: Solventborne

Lambskin

Made from 100% pure merino wool, lambskin sleeves pick up, hold and release a great deal of paint. These rollers are also abrasion-resistant for a longer life. Because of the materials’ natural oils, the roller sleeves are easy to break in and need no preconditioning. Prolonged soaking can cause the cover to delaminate.

• Contract Professional 20mm
• Paint type: Waterborne + Solventborne

Polyblend

These roller sleeves combine great paint pick-up and release with excellent wear characteristics and a longer life. The polyblend is a high performance mix of lambswool and polyester fibres: wool provides maximum capacity and a smooth finish, while polyester helps fabric to resist matting.

• Contract Professional 16mm
• PAL #2 and PAL #3

Trade tips

Matt says that Microfibre Hybrid and Dacron sleeves are the two most popular sleeves for the trade, depending on the finish you’re after and the surface you’re painting.

For first-time use, remember to always wash out your roller sleeve with water or turps depending on which base paint you are using (waterborne or solventborne), as this will remove any loose fibres. Then use a spinning/cleaning tool to remove excess water or turps before loading your roller sleeve – this will allow you to work in as much paint as possible.

When you’re finished painting, roll out excess paint from the roller sleeve. Flush out all residual paint in fresh clean water, then wash the roller sleeve in warm soapy water. Rinse in clean water before standing to dry. Once dry, store your sleeve back into the plastic sleeve.

If you’ll be using your roller the next day, there’s no need to do a complete clean. Simply remove any excess paint and store the roller in a plastic bag overnight while it’s still moist.