# Roller cover saturation



## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

I just had an interesting conversation with a roller cover manufacturers rep.
I'm curious as to how many of you ever pre-wet a roller cover when it's never been used before? 

Have you ever heard of this? Do you do it?

From what he said, and from what I have heard in the past, there are some roller cover materials (and this varies by brand) that can take up to an hour completely soaked in paint to get to the point where the material can actually absorb the maximum amount of paint it was designed to hold and release. I'm sure all of you have run into this and are somewhat aware of it.

But did you know that if you wet the roller before ever putting it in paint and then spinning it out or letting it dry overnight, you will get that maximum performance level out of that roller as soon as you load it with paint?

Even using the proper loading technique, some roller materials just won't load up fully until they reach their maximum saturation level. Which depending on the material and brand can take a lot of "pan Loading" (or bucket loading before someone goes into cardiac arrest.)

I'm kind of curious as to what the majority of you do, as this was a pretty common thing to do when I started in this business and I'm wondering if it has gone the way of the dodo. (an extinct,large, flightless bird.)


----------



## Vylum (May 12, 2016)

i damp it down every time so i dont have to work in the paint as long. if im on a commercial site priming bare drywall ill soak it right down then spin the sleeve out where ever necessary. if im in someones house ill squeeze the sleeve with a wet hand a few times to moisten


----------



## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Vylum said:


> i damp it down every time so i dont have to work in the paint as long. if im on a commercial site priming bare drywall ill soak it right down then spin the sleeve out where ever necessary. if im in someones house ill squeeze the sleeve with a wet hand a few times to moisten


 
then wipe your hand on you pants because you don't use rags:whistling2:


----------



## ParamountPaint (Aug 25, 2016)

I wet them down. It works tremendously well. Otherwise, it works OK to pour some paint in the pan, load the roller, and go cut in. I agree that it takes some time to soak in and load.


----------



## kmp (Jan 30, 2011)

I dunk the roller in paint then let it hang on the grid and cut in walls or finish prep. I dont let the skin stay in paint as then there is to much on it for the first roll on the wall.It still takes a pass or two to get the skin fully loaded and release well. When I used all lambs wool skins I wet them more often. Get them too wet and the first roll is too sloppy.


----------



## loaded brush (Dec 27, 2007)

Been doing this practice of pre wetting and spinning out for years. I do it every day whether the roller is new or not.


----------



## CApainter (Jun 29, 2007)

There's no question that wetting a new roller with water and spinning it out before applying paint, is an acceptable way to "break in" a roller quickly in order to get maximum applicability. I've done it myself. However, I would argue that the paint grid actually pulls the roller fibers outward more efficiently than a roller pan does, thus allowing "roller saturation" to occur while actually painting.


----------



## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

I've been wetting and spinning roller covers before dipping them into paint for as long as I can remember. Especially when using Gardz.

futtyos


----------



## Exactoman (Mar 28, 2013)

I load my pan, load the roller, load the roller every 10 minutes or so while I cut in. Seems to work!!


----------



## Gymschu (Mar 11, 2011)

This also smells of yet another way for paint companies to void a warranty situation. "Uh, did you PRE-saturate your roller sleeve before rolling it in the paint?" No, I did not. "Well that's the problem right there. Sorry, we can't help you out, warranty is null and void." I know, not that any paint companies honor warranties to begin with.............


----------



## SemiproJohn (Jul 29, 2013)

I've always pre-wet thick roller naps...3/4'' to 1 1/4'' before putting them in paint, and never the thinner naps. Maybe I'll start doing them all.


----------



## PNW Painter (Sep 5, 2013)

It's interesting that pre wetting and letting the cover dry overnight would have the same effect? I'll have to try that.

I've found that it's especially important to let microfiber covers marinate in paint for at least 15-45 min before you start rolling. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

