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I'm decorating someones house and have used a roller on the upstairs with no problem at all. I'm now painting the landing and down the stairs, and the roller is leaving marks on the wall that show up because the light's hitting it sideways on. Is there any way to stop this or am I going to have to brush it instead? This is going to be a problem as I'm having to use a two metre extension pole anyway. Cheers.
What marks? I've always been told not to overload a roller but other than that it should be pretty simple.
wipe the edge of the roller?
Roll into the area you have just finished rather than starting there
Try a better/different quality paint?
It's marks where the roller is starting or finishing the stroke, not build up from the edge of the roller. It's Dulux Light And Space emulsion which between you and me I'll never be using again, but I can't change it now.
How long has it been on the wall? Once it dries I'd have thought the marks should be much less obvious, if visible at all?
A very light sanding followed by thinning the paint for the next coat might help. I usually use Leyland trade emulsion and that needs thinning when using a roller. A lot of paints seem to have a high filler content which means that although they cover well sometimes you get the problem you have.
Stretch it out a bit further and finish off with light strokes over a larger area.
But as regards the painting, no idea, sorry.
Yeh roll it very lightly once done ,thinner coats too- really roll it out
Don't use satin finish, use matt. Keep the paint going on as even as possible. Don't dunk the roller in the paint, dance over the top and roll off the excess on the try, but don't press too hard. After spreading the paint as evenly as possible and, lightly roll over the area just done and move on.
Father in law (retired painter & dec) never used a roller, just a big brush. He avoided brush marks by thinning down paint and using more coats.
Sometimes works for me, sometimes I can't be arsed.
+1 for seeing how it dries, too.
Roller marks are often because you're skidding it- easy to do as you change direction or lift. Can leave little smears (my dad's trick) but also can just leave thicker or inconsistent patches (which can look fine when wet but dry out differently) which might well be what you're getting- very noticable in sunlight.
That's exactly what's happening. It looks fine when wet then as it dries some patches are looking more "glossy" than others in the light. Looks like I'll be rubbing it all down again and maybe thinning the paint a little. As for roller pressure it's a case of doing as well as I can due to having to use such a long extension pole. Makes it very difficult to apply the right amount of pressure. Many thanks for all your helpful replies.
And thin down with just water I assume? (I get exactly the same problem on our stairs and about to redecorate myself)...
It's marks where the roller is starting or finishing the stroke
IANAPD but it would seem to be too much paint on the roller? I always roll lots over and over again, til the roller's relatively dry, so you sort of build up layers as you go. Never had the roller leaving marks on the wall as you describe.
The skidding only happens to me when I have what I consider to be way too much paint on.