Applying polyurethane can be tricky and messy. But don’t worry, a competent roller can turn this into an easy one! Your project goes much faster with it and looks great, no matter how large it is! The possibility of bubbling and foaming reduces automatically. And essentially, a top-notch polyurethane roller like Foam PRO is not expensive either!
Can You Apply Polyurethane with a Roller?
Although we’re discussing this with certainty about the effectiveness of rollers in polyurethane application, one question may still come to your mind – is it really possible to apply polyurethane with a roller?
Simply, yes! The roller works excellent, especially on larger wood surfaces, such as indoor floors, outdoor decks or wooden walls. Relatively small surfaces such as large tables, cabinetries or furniture can be rolled out but need a little more care and skill. Small furniture for having corners and tough-to-reach areas may also require the assistance of a brush, or spray can.
What Kind of Roller to Use for Polyurethane?
There are several applicators for polyurethane. Although the heading of this blog post clearly states the use of foam roller for polyurethane application, we think this requires a little more explanation as to what type of roller is more appropriate for the poly application.
Among others, a paint roller is the best option to use for polyurethane. It will help you in a couple of ways – first, to stain your surface, and second, to fortify the stained surface with another smoothening coating. It enhances the overall beauty of the rolled surface.
But, paint rollers can be several types based on different sleeve heads, including:
- Long Haired Mohair Sleeve Roller
- Short Haired Mohair Sleeve Roller
- Smooth Foam Sleeve Roller
- Synthetic Fibre Sleeve Roller
- Lambs Wool Sleeve Roller
Among those, wool-sleeve rollers work for finishing poly, but the smooth foam-sleeve rollers, a simple roller wrapped in plastic and cloth, offer the most flawless and appealing polyurethane finish, way too better than any other roller type. So, choose quality wool or foam roller for the purpose.
Best Roller for Polyurethane – Heads & Frames
We narrowed down the best rollers for applying polyurethane categorically through extensive analysis. We’ve included multiple rollers (alternative to each other) for each category so that users can pick one should the targeted one is unavailable. But don’t worry, each of them has proven qualities and you can rely upon them. If you don’t find the first option, you may go for the second without hesitation.
Best Roller for Polyurethane – FOAM PRO or NANJA
Best Full Kit of Poly Roller- STANLEY or YATTICH or Magimate
Best Roller Cover (Refill) – FP 6” or Dynamic 4” or FP 2” or WB 9”
Best Roller Frame for Poly – Wooster Brush or Purdy
Best Roller for Water Based Poly – Katzco or KUPOO or PD
Best Roller for Oil Based Poly – Purdy or Wooster Brush
Best Mini Roller – FoamPRO 182 or FoamPro 162
Best Extension Pole – Purdy or LongArm or Extend-a-reach
Considerable Facts – When You Buy a Roller for Urethanes
If you’re a professional carpenter, you already know how to choose a suitable roller for polyurethane. This paragraph probably would not provide any significant value to you. But a lot of DIY people, novices in this sector, come to read our write-ups. This particular section is addressed considering their capacity.
However, reading anything does not go in vain, so none can ignore that even an expert may get a small but new thing from a writeup like this! Let’s focus on the facts of consideration while buying a new roller for your urethane project.
- Get a sturdy roller frame with a design that tightly secures the cover (head sleeve) while allowing free spin.
- Short stick mini roller is good for small and tight areas, while long stick roller is for large areas.
- Cover material is another must-to-consider type fact. We have already addressed this issue earlier in the “what kind of roller to use for polyurethane” paragraph. Get foam or wool sleeve cover, or at least a fine fabric sleeve cover.
- Nap size regulates the uniformity of finish. For a more even finish, a thin nap fit roller is better than a thicker one.
- The resistance capacity of the sleeve determines the durability of the cover. Get a top-notch and expensive roller to have better resistance.
Benefits of Using Roller for Applying Poly
Polyurethane rollers have several advantages. We won’t get into detailed discussions on it, as the key points work enough for a clear idea. The benefits of using a polyurethane foam roller are as under.
- In terms of speed and time-saving, a foam roller works multiple times faster compared to any other application method like wiping or brushing, a performance pretty similar to a paint sprayer.
- It ensures better coverage of larger surfaces while painting or applying urethanes.
- A foam roller provides an evenly finish all around, no matter if the surface was prepared or not.
- A roller doesn’t leave any visible stroke or seamer on the finished surface.
- Unlike brushes or wipers, you can use a roller for multiple finishing agents, for example, liquid decorative plaster.
Drawbacks of Polyurethane Rollers
- Compared to paint sprayers, quality paint rollers are way too inexpensive, but if you count pricing of polyurethane brushes, you’ll find rollers expensive to some extent.
- Rollers are incompetent to perform while finishing joints, curves, corners and other hard-to-reach areas.
Use of Roller – Few Essential Tips
It will help if you keep few other things in mind while preparing and using a foam roller for applying polyurethane:
- Align the cover hole with the end of the roller frame and push gently to attach the cover of your foam roller.
- You can screw the foam roller extension pole on each roller frame to reach and cover higher places.
- If you want no visible roller edge lines in the finish, use the rounded part of the foam roller cover.
- Never put excessive pressure on the roller while applying poly. A light, even and constant pressure gives a better outcome.
- Remove the cover of your roller from the frame instantly after painting or finishing polyurethane.
Foam Roller and Bubbles on Finish
It will help if you keep few other things in mind while preparing and using a foam roller for applying polyurethane:
- Shaking the polyurethane can or stirring the poly too vigorously brings air into the urethane to cause bubbles or foaming.
- Excessive rolling and applying polyurethane too fast – both drive extra air into the film, producing bubbles on your polyurethane finish.
- Using a roller cover that has the wrong nap length.
- Applying a semi-gloss or gloss polyurethane over an unsealed or porous surface.
- Applying in high heat or temperature dries up the finish quickly before the formed bubbles or craters break and level out.
- Use of an inappropriate thinner for the particular.
- Use of an old or low quality polyurethane.
How can you prevent bubbles? Just avoid doing those things responsible for producing bubbles, as stated above. If you still find the finish containing bubbles, follow these steps.
Concluding Remarks
Polyurethane can be applied in several ways – rolling is one of the two fastest methods. The process has quite a decent number of advantages than a few insignificant drawbacks. It can save your time, labor and, of course, in some cases, money. The final finish becomes spotless too! The only thing you have to do is to pick up the right roller for your project, where this article will probably be of great assistance.
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