Boost your team’s productivity by considering these three factors
Though many painters are looking to make their teams more productive, few are aware that choosing the right roller cover can also make a big difference for their bottom line. Connie McKinney, Senior Product Manager at Sherwin-Williams, says she’s seen how much of a difference roller selection can make.
“Many painters get comfortable with a certain roller cover,” McKinney says. “It might be the perfect roller cover for them rolling drywall, for instance, but they’ll continue to try to use that and make it work for them in different situations, whether it’s doors, ceilings, or stucco.
“But if you want to make yourself as productive as possible, finding the best roller cover—based on the specs of your current project—is important. You need to think about what you’re painting and adjust accordingly.”
McKinney outlines three key areas that professional painters should consider when selecting a roller cover.
Substrate texture
The texture of the substrate will affect the finish quality of the coating, which will guide roller cover selection. Knitted roller covers excel at holding more paint but leave some stipple, while woven roller covers deliver a finer finish.
“If you’re painting T-111 plywood siding, you really don’t want to use a fine finish roller cover,” McKinney says. “And if you’re painting a steel door, you don’t want to use just a plain old production roller cover.”
For smooth surfaces that require an equally smooth finish—such as doors, cabinets, drywall, and floors—painters should use a woven, low-nap roller cover, such as the Purdy® Ultra Finish®, which prevents lint from being left behind, offers low splatter, and is made with premium microfiber.
For heavy or coarse substrate textures, McKinney recommends going with a knitted roller cover in a higher nap size, such as the Purdy® Marathon™.
“You’re never going to get that smooth, glass-like finish, because it’s a rough surface, so you want the roller cover that can give you the most coverage and get into all the nooks and crannies,” McKinney says. “I recommend using a knitted cover in those situations, because it can hold more paint.”
Room layout
Consider the layout of the room being painted. Is it full of large, unadorned walls and extremely open? Or is it narrow, tight, and cluttered? The layout determines how much of a premium you will need to place on roller size versus maneuverability.
“If you’re painting a bathroom, you’re not going to use an 18-inch roller cover, because you’re never going to be able to paint more than one or two swipes,” McKinney says. “In a smaller area like that, or areas that have a lot of tight spaces like kitchens, you may even want to use a mini-roller, like the Purdy® Jumbo Mini, because maneuverability matters more than productivity. But if you’re painting a living room with an open layout, you’ll want at least a 9-inch roller, if not a 14- or 18-inch.”
One major factor that affects maneuverability is the roller frame. An 18-inch roller has two arms on either side of its frame, whereas the 9-inch only has one on one side. The open-ended frame helps painters paint right up to the edge of a corner or piece of trim, while the 18-inch can’t do that as well.
In this respect, McKinney says many painters love choosing the new Purdy® 14-inch Roller System. Part of PRO+ductive Solutions by Sherwin-Williams, the Purdy® 14-inch Roller System combines the maneuverability of smaller rollers with the productivity boosts of a larger roller.
“With the shortage of skilled labor, a lot of times our painters are trying to do more with less,” McKinney says. “After all, they can get 55 percent more productive just by going from a 9-inch to a 14-inch roller cover, while keeping that maneuverability. With the 14-inch, you have an open end on your frame so you’re able to fit the roller into those tight places.”
Paint selection
Painters should also consider whether they will be painting with oil-based or water-based paint when choosing a roller cover. While oil-based paints can use either natural- or synthetic-fiber rollers, water-based coatings need to use rollers composed of synthetic fibers.
“If you’re using waterborne, you’ll want to steer clear of natural fibers,” McKinney says. “That’s because the natural fibers are just like the hair on our heads. When we shower, our hair immediately wets down and lays down, right? You don’t want your roller cover to mat down, because once it mats down, it’s not holding much paint. So natural fibers are not a great choice for water-based coatings like latex.”
For painters using oil-based paints who want to use natural-fiber applicators, McKinney recommends sheepskin and mohair. Mohair delivers a fine finish, suitable for painting doors and cabinets or putting a clear coat on a floor, whereas sheepskin is more absorbent and better for larger, bulk painting situations (though less durable).
Painters seeking the best of both worlds should consider the Purdy® Colossus™, which is made with 100% woven polyamide and was designed as a kind of “synthetic lambskin.”
“Lambskin is very absorbent, but it’s not very durable, and it’s not really made for latex coatings,” McKinney says. “But a lot of contractors were using it on stucco anyway, because it would hold a lot of paint. And they’d deteriorate so quickly that they’d have to buy two roller covers just for one house.
“We made Colossus to hold a lot of paint, but be much more durable. Now painters could buy just one Colossus roller cover and use that for two, three, even five houses. Plus, it’s less expensive than sheepskin and plays nicely with latex coatings.”
Conclusion
While it’s natural to get attached to a particular roller, McKinney says that painters seeking maximum productivity should stock a variety of covers for each situation.
“For example, a contractor might be using the Purdy® Marathon® with a ½” nap. If they’re painting a textured ceiling, they should probably move up to a ¾” nap. Some contractors will just say, ‘Well, I’ve got a ½”, and that’s good enough.’ But they probably could have painted the ceiling faster if they had used a ¾”.”
Don’t settle for “good enough.” Increased productivity leads to increased profits for your business. Invest in your crew’s productivity by taking the time to choose the right roller cover for the job.