What’s the best (fast – easy) way to clean paint rollers. usually I throw them away, figure their not worth the $3.50 to spend the time cleaning them. But, if there a gaget out there to do it in a few seconds, I figure you guys will know about it.
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Replies
I toss them when I'm finished. On the rare occasions when I'll be re-using one, I scrape the excess paint off with my 5-in-1 tool, put the roller in a plastic bag, and put it in the fridge. They'll keep for a few days.
I've got thing that I bought from sw that looks like a tube with a garden hose atatchment that works ok on thicker roller covers, 3/4 nap. on the 3/8 nap, not so great.
I just looked around online and saw a few that were similar, but added centrifical force. anybody used them? They a gimmic?
I toss them when I'm finished. On the rare occasions when I'll be re-using one, I scrape the excess paint off with my 5-in-1 tool, put the roller in a plastic bag, and put it in the fridge. They'll keep for a few days.
When I'll be re-using a roller, I just leave it in the roller tray hooked to the edge (so it's not sitting in the paint) and cover the whole thing with a plastic garbage bag. A rubber band around the roller handle seals it up. It will keep at least a week this way. I haven't had the opportunity to find out the maximum storage life, but I'm sure it's a lot longer than a week.
-Don
I buy roller covers by the 6-pack at the big box. They cost less than $1.50 this way. There's no way I'm cleaning them at that price. In the past, I've cleaned them by rollering them in a large sink. It probably took a good 15 minutes to clean each one thoroughly. And after all of the abuse they got while being cleaned, they never worked as well anyway.
The guys at my favorite paint store (a real paint store, not the big box) have tried to convince me that the name-brand (such as Purdy) roller covers do a better job, but I can't see it. The difference is more in the painter than it is in the cover.
However, the 6-packs only come in 3/8" nap. Usually that's fine, but some jobs (such as doors) may require a shorter nap to reduce stippling.
-Don
If you must clean them:
a) Get one of those black spinners. They are usful for cleaning brushes too.
b) Put a garbage bag in a large garbage can or roll some rosin paper into a 15" diameter tube and place in an empty compound bucket.
c) Have a compound bucket filled with water at your side.
Then:
1) Scrap as much paint as you can off the sleeve using a 5-1 tool.
2) Place the roller sleeve on the spinner and spin it to remove all the excess paint. Be sure to do this in the garbage can or compound bucket with the extended side walls of rosin paper.
3) Dip the sleeve, while still on the spinner, in the bucket of water.
4) Spin the paint laden water off, in the garbage can or tall bucket.
5) Repeat until water spinning off is clear.
6) Use roller again immidiately. Moisture is still on roller and will settle to the lowest point on the sleeve, regardless of whether you stand it up or lay it down to dry. Once dry, this part of the roller will be hard/ crusty.
Hope this helps.
Frankie
There he goes—one of God's own prototypes—a high powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die.
—Hunter S. Thompson
from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Frankie - I do almost the same as you. Been doin' it that way for thirty plus years.
One thing I do slightly different is with the bucket I spin the cover in. I have a spackle bucket with a modified lid. I've cut off all but two of the locking tabs around the outside edge. Makes for a lid that goes on and off easily, but still stays on. In the center of the lid I drilled a 4" hole. Put the cover on the spinner and in thru the hole, into the bucket. You can now spin anywhere and not lose a drop.
When I'm done the spinner, brush comb, and 5 in 1 all go into the bucket until needed again.
I'm also a fan of Purdy brand covers and brushes. The covers hold more paint, apply it with an even "texture", don't lose their nap in the paint, and don't "spit" paint at you when you roll overhead... It's the little things... Buic
A lid w/ a 4" hole and only 2 tabs? BRILLIANT!!!I think that a normal compound bucket would be too short - meaning there would be little room for play. However I have a similar materials bucket which is about 3-4" taller. Perfect!Thanks for the tip.FrankieThere he goes—one of God's own prototypes—a high powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die.—Hunter S. Thompson
from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
Another drywall bucket idea is to put a drain hole in the bottom of the side, leave the roller on the frame (including the pole), hang it over the edge of the bucket, step on the pole to hold it still and blast the roller cover with the hose so that it spins. A quick scrape with a 5 in 1 first is helpful.Afterwards, a little quick soap & rinse, put it on the spinner and you're done. Soap seems to make some difference in whether or not your roller is slightly crusty after it dries and it seems to get the paint residue out quicker than just plain water.I tried spinning it out in the yard like others have said but didn't like the look of paint spray all over the grass. I've noticed a big difference in how much spray I get, when painting with a Purdy or Wooster vs a generic cheapie. I gave up on the cheapies and tried to figure out the best way to clean a good cover.
Kiddin' right?
5 in one to scrape the paint off yer rollers after you wash it then spin it on yer spinner.
Comb yer brushes after you wash em' then spin em and put the sleeve back on em to keep em' in shape'!!
And here I thought "everyone" does that. Never ever had any problems doing it that way. Good as "new"!
If ya don't spin yer paintin' tools ya ain't doin it right. Takes all of five minutes.
Be spinnin' one mon
andy
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides, I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
Be spinnin' one mon
Ditto what the mon said, mon. *chuckle*
You are talking about water-base right?
A brush spinner is the way to go. I clean mine in the laundry tub.
First get the roller really dry by rolling it on some newspaper. Then use you fingers to rub out as much paint as possible under running water. Put it on the spinner, wet it under running water and spin and repeat till the water comes out clean. Keeping the roller on the spinner, clean the roller with some soap and rinse and spin again. When the roller is properly cleaned and you stand it on end to dry, there shouldn't be any leftover paint to collect on the bottom.
The whole thing shouldn't take more than 2-3 min. and you have a roller that's better than new, softer and less lint. That is, provided you have a good roller to start with, not those bulk 6 packers. For 2-3 min. I save myself $7-8 and get a better roller.
You can also take the roller outside, keep it on the handle and use a garden hose to spin it while you aim the water back and forth along the roller, the spinning roller will spit out the paint pretty fast.
Since I was painting 2 rooms today, I decided to do a side-by-side comparison of a cheap cover vs. an expensive Purdy cover. I painted one room using a cheap 6-pack cover and the other room using the Purdy. Both covers were 3/8" nap. (And both got thrown away at the end of the day).
Here's what I learned:
Both held about the same amount of paint and covered about the same area before re-filling, with the slight edge going to the cheap cover.
Neither left any detectable lint behind.
Purdy left less of a ridge along the edge of the cover, but it was easy to eliminate on the next pass with either cover.
Purdy left smaller stipple marks (but, I happen to like stipple marks, especially in flat paint.
Neither cover created significant splatter unless I tried rolling very fast (faster than I would typically roll) and at high speeds the edge goes to the Purdy.
There you have it. I will continue to use the cheap ones because it looks like I'm not really paying a penalty and they're a lot cheaper. Your mileage may vary. After all, the cheap covers that you buy and your techniques may not be the same.
-Don
Hmmm, very interesting AB comparison. They both do the job but there are always the intangibles.
So why would people buy a $1000 watch while a throw away watch costs $10, and they both tell time?
Errrr, may be not exactly a good analogy. :>)
Here's what I do......attach the roller to your extension pole and extend it out so that you don't get wet.You then prop the roller up end ways on a bucket. While holding the paint pole in one hand use a garden hose with the other hand to spray a strong stream of water at the roller just hitting the edge of the roller and causing it to spin. The spinning action along with moving the stream of water up and down the edge of the roller will not only cause the paint to 'fly' off the roller but it will also partially dry and 'fluff' it up making the roller like new.
If I have a garden hose handy I'll keep the cover on the roller, have the water at high pressure holding it at just the right angle to the cover, you'll get that thing spinning very fast, the paint and water fly off becuse of the high speed spinning action. Takes about 5 minutes to clean the cover.
I hang it on something so that the nap of the cover stays fluffed out so that it dries that way and doesn't matte on me.
I've had roller covers that I've cleaned and reused for 10 years. Course I'm not painting every day either.
All this is assuming that your using latex paint.
Doug
appreciate it. I'll try the extention handle and garden hose.
Heck, I got a pressure washer, I'll give that a try. Will let you all know how it turns out. Might rank up there with potato guns and anvill blasting.
dougu and Jerryhill got it right. Takes just a few minutes and does a great job.
Here's a tip for saving covers when using oil based products. Might sound crazy but we store the cover on the frame in a 5 gal bucket of water. The water and the oil don't mix. The water keeps the cover from drying out. When you're ready to use the oil cover just roll it out onto some newspaper - cardboard - red rosin whatever until the water disapates and the oil product starts to transfer to the absorbing paper. Works great for overnight or a few days storage. A note of of caution... check your cover if it is a cardboard or plastic center. Obviously the plastic center will work better for such storage. As for clean up of oil covers...we pitch them just like their latex cousins. A new cover out performs a used cover anyday. Every job we start gets a new cover for every color or paint type. We prefer the Wooster 50/50 (half lambskin half polyester) 1/2" nap. Works great for walls and ceilings. Holds more paint than most and lays on a nice finish with little streaking and dreaded fuzzy's. Hope the info is useful.
Brian
How many gallons of paint do you think the Wooster is good for?
Say on a mildly textured surface.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWPD
How many gallons of paint do you think the Wooster is good for?
Say on a mildly textured surface.
I can't say I have worn one out on one job. Are you spraying and backrolling or just dipping out of a pan?
Dipping out of a pan,
seems mine are good for about 2 gallons then they lose the ability to absorb the paint like when they are new. It seems at about 2 gallons +/- the roller flattens out losing that nice roll they have.
Does that make sense?
When they are new they really roll niiiiice.
Oh I am using the 6.5" X .5"
Oh to add to this thread, I am not rinsing the rollers. I am using them periodically throughout the day and night. Just putting it in a very paint wet plastic baggie.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
WWPD
Edited 1/24/2006 10:08 pm ET by Sailfish
How many gallons of paint do you think the Wooster is good for?
Say on a mildly textured surface.
We rarely "wear out" a roller on a job. Since every job gets a new cover I can say confidently that you can do an entire house with a cover. If you are painting apartments or high volume areas I would only be able to judge on number of days verses gallons. We have had jobs where the ends of the covers start to get hard after a couple of days use. At the first sign of "breakdown" we pitch. The pan is going to get gunky long before the cover will fail. Another perk of the Wooster is that the 50/50 is available in a 18" cover and a 4" cover. The nap is the same as the 9" cover with 1/2" nap. Therefore you can get consistent orange peel or texture.
I agree...I so don't get some of these complicated responses...sorry. I can easily do an entire floor of 10-12 nice sized rooms with no breakdown of my roller sleeves. And once again...all I do is wash em' out real good with warm water and soap...5 in 1 em dry and spin em' into an open empty spackle bucket...good as new...c'mon fellers, it ain't all that complicated.
And one other thing while I'm at it...lol....tossing a roller cause your too lazy to clean em right and thats what in all honesty your doing is bad practice because that translates down the line to the reat of your work. Take care with your tools and a roller sleeve is a tool.You should have the same attitude towards everything you do. Its not just about a $3.00 sleeve....is it now? Think about it.
Night John Boy
Be well
andyThe secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides, I honor the place in you of love, of light, of truth, of peace. I honor the place within you where if you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me, there is only one of us.
Tons of it if you take care of the brush......depending on the roughness of the surface, but "wet" brushes pretty well glide over all surfaces.
Get one of the "spinners" you have been reading about on here.........they are the bomb and work for brushes and rollers, rollers take a touch more time, but it works like a CHARM. You'll wonder why you saw one or heard of them before. If you're using a solvent base paint, buy a gal. of laquer thinner (naptha can work on many products, but laquer thinner pretty well covers all bases, except epoxies). Puta bit of solvent in a mid-size can, rinse brush, spin, put another small bit of solvent in can, rinse brush, spin, repeat till you seem clean.....this way you just a little solvent and always get cleaner as you go.
Edited 1/24/2006 8:39 pm ET by zorrosdens
How much is your time worth. Good roller covers can be had for 3 bucks a piece. Let's see here, to clean one totally so it can be used again probably takes about 6 to 10 mins. In my case longer. If it takes me 15 mins. each to clean 4 sleeves, that's 60 mins. 4x3=12. That's $12 per hr. Man! that's what I made 24 yrs. ago as a commercial construction carpenter and I didn't have to worry about getting paint on my shoes!
Seriously, I keep the plastic sleeves they come in, slide them off the frame and back in the plastic. A little blue tape to keep it tight, then place in a Lowes plastic bag, roll and tape again. I've been able to save them over 3 months at times.
k
I've got a gadget that threads on the end of a hose. It's a sort of ring that you press the roller through, with the water running. Water sprays into the center of the ring from holes in it, and a collar on one end of the hole squeezes the roller as it goes through to "wring" it out. About 3 passes through the gizmo is sufficient to get a roller clean enough to keep til tomorrow in a plastic bag, 6 passes clean enough to put away long term for reuse.
Of course, this only works for latex.
happy?
Here's a picture:
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
I hate like heck to throw out a roller cover but I have got to the point that I cannot justify anything past putting a bag over a cover (latex) and putting it in a freezer or refrigerator till the next day or two. If doing it for myself I do tend to clean them but when I look at the water required and the time it does not make any sense.
I have tried the Shur-line easy clean rollers and they do not seem to be any better to clean. I rinse them under a hose and squeeze them out. I put the roller in a cut off soda bottle or other container of water so the end of the cover is off the bottom and the paint just drops to the bottom, then rinse. If some dark hues color I do not waste any time, just toss. It does a pretty good job.
If these were some kind of exotic sheepskin rollers ( Dino's type) I might see it. I think the ecology of it all says trash them.
Bob
> If some dark hues color I do not waste any time, just toss.
Yup. Use the new ones for light colors. When you need to do dark, make it the last job for the oldest rollers.
-- J.S.
I usually bring em home full of paint and throw them in the washer.
The wife gets pissed, the naps get torn up, but you should see the inside of the washer. It is psychodelic, and when the washer is turned on it will take you back to the 60s. I can stand there a watch through two or three cycles, remembering my old bra-less girlfriends. Then the wife gets really pissed.
I don't do much painting or washing anymore. I wore out my Jimi Hendrix 8 track tapes.
It doesn't take much for me to start thinking about my old girlfriends either... but I don't tell my wife about it. She might throw me in the washer with the dirty paint rollers.
Billy
Slide the cover onto the tail of a golden retriever and toss a tennis ball into the pool. On a big dog, you can usually get at least three per tail.
Don't forget to tie a knot in the tail, to keep the covers from sliding off.
If ignorance is bliss why aren't more people
happy?
Handy for touch-ups etc
Leave em pretty wet w/ paint.
Put in a big (1 gal) zip-lock bag (suck out air before sealing) throw it in a bucket of water.
Will last about a month or two
After that, wrap carefully in a garbage bag & fire em out.
Here's the best spinner I've seen:
1) Take an old roller handle and remove the cage.
2) Take a piece of 1/4" redi-rod, about 20 inches long. Put it through the center of the cage and secure it with nuts.
3) Use the high range of your electric drill to spin the crap out of rollers. I saturate the roller in water, put it in a 5 gallon pail, and spin away. After five or six times it's as clean as new.
Centrifuge!!
Scott.
Always remember those first immortal words that Adam said to Eve, “You’d better stand back, I don’t know how big this thing’s going to get.”
Hook a die grinder to that setup and let me know how it works. 20,000 rpms baby!
I'd be a bit concerned about 20" of ¼" rod bending under the centrifugal force at 20,000 RPM. Kind of a lot of energy there....
-- J.S.
Titanium rod with ball bearings maybe? It would make a great Darwin award or americas funniest home movies according to the failure mode, at any rate.
I'm still thinking the pressure washer will get it spinning at a decent RPM. Probably better than the die grinder.
I should have a fresh, dirty batch of rollers later next week. I'll get a tyvek suit, scuba mask, and see what happens.
I think the key is to have bearings at both ends. Rolls Royce does destructive testing of aircraft jet engines, basically running the RPM's up until something fails. Maybe that test facility could do the pressure washer test. At least the place would get a coat of paint in the process. ;-)
-- J.S.