On a roll. Little and Large

Seakindly

Seakindly

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That's the great thing about this place. You can ask dumb questions you'd be embarrassed about elsewhere. Am contemplating a paint job and wondering about application. In yards all I ever see are people using tiny radiator rollers. Even with anti-fouling.. I've used ordinary sized short nap rollers for AF and the finish looks the same in half the time. Why do we use the tiddly ones? Now I'm doing a 'proper' job I guess I should follow suit. Planning to roll and follow with a brush.
 
No problem using a 10 or 8 inch roller. Just make certain that the material of the roller is compatible with the AF, or it will dissolve :)

The best device is a long handled extesing stick for the roller so that you can reach down the keel and garboard area without having to kneel down.
 
Seakindly said:
That's the great thing about this place. You can ask dumb questions you'd be embarrassed about elsewhere. Am contemplating a paint job and wondering about application. In yards all I ever see are people using tiny radiator rollers. Even with anti-fouling.. I've used ordinary sized short nap rollers for AF and the finish looks the same in half the time. Why do we use the tiddly ones? Now I'm doing a 'proper' job I guess I should follow suit. Planning to roll and follow with a brush.
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It's a question of economy. Whenever you're working on your boat you're forever being interrupted by people coming up asking daft questions (such as "Why aren't you using a big roller?"). While you're trying to get rid of these nuisances, the paint on your roller dries out and you have to throw it away. So, since large rollers cost morer than small ones, it makes economic sense to use small ones. ;)
 
sarabande said:
No problem using a 10 or 8 inch roller. Just make certain that the material of the roller is compatible with the AF, or it will dissolve :)
Click to expand...

This issue vexed me last winter. I bought a roller from a well-known chandlers, and it managed half of one side of the boat before disintegrating. Given that A/F is too expensive to waste on testing the longevity of rollers, how do you overcome this? What am I missing? Thx
 
Look at the MSDS for the antifouling. It will tell you the nature of the solvents.

Cross check with the make of the roller to see if it is compatible.


People like Jotun (Shepherds) will only sell rollers that are OK with their products.
 
I used a long handled radiator roller. I did find though that any roller based on foam/sponge (call it what you like) disintegrated in a very short time. Cheap rollers from Wilko are fine, but not sponge/foam. I cannot conceivably see why anyone would buy a roller handle & roller pad from a chandler. Blimey you lot must be minted.
 
Seakindly said:
That's the great thing about this place. You can ask dumb questions you'd be embarrassed about elsewhere. Am contemplating a paint job and wondering about application. In yards all I ever see are people using tiny radiator rollers. Even with anti-fouling.. I've used ordinary sized short nap rollers for AF and the finish looks the same in half the time. Why do we use the tiddly ones? Now I'm doing a 'proper' job I guess I should follow suit. Planning to roll and follow with a brush.
Click to expand...

I may have missed the point, or others have, but I take it you are talking about painting top-sides/hull?
If so, let me warn you - I have just completed Khamsin's "paint job" Over 150 hours of scraping off, priming, undercoating and finally Perfection top-coat(s).

Top-coat #2 looked spectacular. Put on with small radiator roller and tipped-off with a 2.5" brush, done single-handed.
Subsequent coats (3 of) were a nightmare of runs, brush-marks, drags and "flying blood-suckers". Used the same technique and with the aid of a professional.
In the end he put-on and tipped-off with a good brush. There are still brush marks, but in general she looks superb.
After all the work and 6 top-coats, I decided enough is enough.

So be warned, it is nowhere near as easy as sploshing on the a/f :miserable::miserable::miserable::miserable::miserable::sorrow:
 
Seakindly said:
That's the great thing about this place. You can ask dumb questions you'd be embarrassed about elsewhere. Am contemplating a paint job and wondering about application. In yards all I ever see are people using tiny radiator rollers. Even with anti-fouling.. I've used ordinary sized short nap rollers for AF and the finish looks the same in half the time. Why do we use the tiddly ones? Now I'm doing a 'proper' job I guess I should follow suit. Planning to roll and follow with a brush.
Click to expand...
Larger rollers are more efficient on flat sections, but where there is pronounced curvature only part of the roller will be in contact with the surface, hence it works out just as well to use small ones, which are cheaper to replace. When it comes to buying refills I find that a 6"roller kit, including tray and refills, is cheaper than a pack of refills.
2. When painting topsides, "rolling-on and tipping-off", a large roller applies too much paint to tip off before it becomes "un-tipp-off able"
 
sarabande said:
No problem using a 10 or 8 inch roller. Just make certain that the material of the roller is compatible with the AF, or it will dissolve
Click to expand...

The ones I use disintegrate - it's the tube which goes, not the fluffy bit - after precisely 2.5 litres of antifouling, which luckily is exactly the amount I use.
 
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