Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Works for Me Wednesday: Drying Paint Rollers

You may recall that we recently did quite a bit of painting. (Have I mentioned that I'm not a fan of painting?)  We used three different colors, but only had two rollers, so we had to clean rollers at least once between color changes.  I discovered a technique that worked really well for thoroughly drying the rollers and immediately thought that it would make a great tip to share for Works for Me Wednesday.

First, I completely rinsed out all the paint.  Then, to dry the roller, I first took an old towel and stuffed the towel edges into the roller.  Then I rolled the paint roller up in the towel and gave it a few good squeezes.  I was amazed to find that this got almost all of the water out of the roller, eliminating those first few watered-down strokes on the clean wall.


Did you also know that you can tie a roller up in a plastic shopping bag to keep it from drying out if you're going to be using the color again soon?  That was a nice technique for the one roller that didn't need to be changed out, but would be used again the next day.

Do you have any good painting tips?  As much as I hate painting, any tips to make it easier are always appreciated.


This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

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Posted by Kris at 1:24 AM
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8 comments:

  1. Wrapping paint brushes and rollers in Saran Wrap and sticking them in the freezer also keeps them fresh and ready to use, even a couple of days later! We've been doing a lot of painting lately, too, and like you, I DREAD cleaning the rollers. They just hold so much paint - even when you've been washing for a considerable time and think you must have washed it all out!
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  2. Yes...what I have decided after years of washing roller covers is that it is just. not. worth. it. I throw them away and put on a new one. Another thing that saves me a lot of time and hassle is that I wrap the roller up in between coats and put it in the fridge. Brushes go in ziploc bags and in the fridge. They can stay fresh overnight even this way, and it saves me TONS of cleanup time.
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  3. Great tip! Did you ruin the towels? Should I use old towels?
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  4. @ Theresa -- I did use an old towel. I didn't really get any paint on it because I'd rinsed the roller out really good, but I wouldn't use my favorite towel or anything...just in case.
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  5. I also store wet rollers and paint brushes in the refrigerator overnight. I usually wrap them in aluminum foil. One other thing that I love are disposable roller pan liners! It saves a lot of time in washing the roller pan. I am usually not very fond of disposable things, but with paint, it's well worth it.
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  6. Question... Do you ahve experience with Chalkboard paint? I am going to paint a whole wall in the girls room but I wondered what was the best way to care for it. Thanks for the tip! I plan to paint that wall very soon, perhaps this weekend :)

    Have a great day!

    Jen
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  7. @ Jen -- I love the idea of chalkboard paint and would love to have a chalkboard wall. However, I haven't ever used it, so I don't have any experience with it. Sorry, I couldn't be more help. I bet the people at the paint store could give you some tips. I know of several people who've used it and it doesn't seem difficult to care for.
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  8. I've done alot of painting lately too- not my favorite thing!! I have to confess, I just buy the economy, big pack of cheap roller brushes and replace as needed. Convenience is a factor with little ones under foot! :)
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