5 Painting Tips So You Avoid Strangling Your Paint Roller

Paint rollers sure are great--and they accomplish a great many things that you cannot do with a brush or other method of painting--but they come with their own set of problems. Here's how to avoid getting frustrated when painting with a paint roller:

1. Use a paint strainer. It's easy to be cavalier about lumps and junk in your paint, until you start seeing them show up on the wall. Instead of picking them off of the wall, pick them out of the paint beforehand. Buying a cheap strainer is the easiest way to do this.
2. Don't try to reuse the roller covers. I suppose that, in these tough economic times, I'm supposed to tell everyone to wash out their paint roller covers. It's just a pain and not worth it. Toss and put on a new one. Want to reduce the waste? Then, plan ahead so that you get a full room's use out of your roller cover before tossing it. If you have to take time out for lunch, wrap tightly with plastic and reuse a half-hour later.
3. Use an extension pole. Extension poles aren't just for ceilings and those unreachable places. Extension poles can also be used for those places you can reach but tend to stretch--like towards the tops of walls.
4. Avoid thick-napped roller covers, unless the wall texture requires it. Thick-nap roller covers are for highly textured surfaces like brick, cottage-cheese ceilings, and the like. It's tempting to use them on smooth surfaces, because they do suck up and deliver massive amounts of paint--obviating the need for multiple return trips to the paint tray. Don't do this.
5. Forget rolling the corners. Get as close to the inside corners as possible, but avoid touching the opposite surface. You can never properly roll inside corners, and if you try, the results will look horrible. So, do the corners with brush, and you'll be much happier.

Image Copyright/Courtesy Lowe's