Tip from a Pro
By: Rick Lobdell
Choosing the correct roller for the right project is not as simple as the first one you grab when walking through Home Depot. There is so much more to the details of rollers than most people realize. I am going to break down a little science behind the rollers and help you choose the right nap for each coating you use. There is no one roller to rule them all like the rings from Lord of the Rings. Let’s take an in-depth look at what roller covers have to offer.
Roller covers have multiple thicknesses that range from 1/4th inch up to 1.5 inches. There is a right place, right time, for each of these thicknesses. On top of that there are multiple materials that are used to create the nap of each roller. In this article I am going to talk about soft woven, mohair, and polyester. Each type of nap will leave a different finish on your floor.
Mohair tends to leave no lint behind as you roll across your floor.
Whereas polyester will leave tones of lint with high end coatings. Soft woven is the best of both worlds. Yes, you still want to de-lint the roller, but it does not shed as much as polyester. I suggest the best rollers when applying thicker high-performance coatings like epoxies and polyaspartics. If you are sealing an aggregate driveway the polyester nap will work just fine. There is a lot of room between those extremes to decide the best nap for each project.
Surface profile is the key to determining which nap is best for each application. If you are applying high end coatings like polyaspartic or urethane mohair is the best for the finish coat. Depending on whether you have design in your floor like I do you might need a thicker roller for the first coat. The mohair will help for any finish coat over epoxy or any other extreme coating.
If your surface has a surface profile under 1/8th inch in depth between depressions then ¼-1/2 inch thick works great. If your surface profile has depth changes of ¼ inch or more than the ¾-1.5 inch thick rollers will help cover everything. The thickness of the roller is not only important when covering the heavier depths but also to remove excess sealer out of those deep depressions.
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