What roller do you use for Duratex?

[67baja]

As the title says, which one? I am looking for a good professional finish, but don't have the patience to wait for rollers to be shipped to me, so preferably something readily available locally.

[escapemcp]

Finger painting (or wait for the rollers - you'll be glad you did). If you REALLY want to get going, you COULD use a roller (the roughest you can find) and then when the real rollers arrive, give it another coat or 2... you'd be able to cover over the rubbish finish from your stop-gap roller, but it's going to cost you extra duratex than just going with the right roller from the start. If you only applied 1 coat with the crap roller, I don't think you'd loose much... the first coat gets soaked up quite a bit by the wood anyway, and it won't really show by the time you have a couple more coats applied with the real roller.

[escapemcp]

Hang on, you've built loads of stuff (looking at your sig)... surely you've duratex'd before!

[sine143]

apply flat latex paint first. then use the duratex roller to apply duratex.

[67baja]

Hang on, you've built loads of stuff (looking at your sig)... surely you've duratex'd before!

Oh, yes, I have applied Duratex before, using standard rollers I had in my garage at the time. The finish is acceptable using standard 1/2" nap rollers, but this time, I want to do it "right". I have also applied D-tex in the leather look, which turned out pretty decent, but it was bloody HOT when I applied it, so it set up pretty quick - it could have been done better.

I also prime using flat black latex paint prior to the D-tex.

So where can I get the proper (or close to proper roller)? I am in Home Depot or Lowe's nearly every day, plus have an account at Sherwin Williams and Dunn Edwards, so one of these places MUST have something suitable, right?

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I used this...I cut one in half to make it easier on the tight(er) spaces. 20 speaker cabinets and a dozen equipment boxes later...I'm still using the first half of this roller.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_41895-159-LR338 ... Id=3200947

[Tom Smit]

S.I.D. has gotten good value from his.

I've used cheap, dollar store rollers with success. Open-foam rollers help; the more open, the better.

[AntonZ]

Duratex and their rollers are not locally available to me. Shipping a few rollers across the globe was not an option. I have used yellow coarse open foam rollers with good results. Like these:


Like Tom says: more open equals more better.
But mind you: you do not want these (the honey comb holes, that is just over the top):

[escapemcp]

Like Tom says: more open equals more better.
But mind you: you do not want these (the honey comb holes, that is just over the top):

It would look good with a honeycomb finish I would have thought... what is the problem with those.
Whatever you do, don't buy the 'sheepskin' fluffy rollers that one store sold me as a duratex roller... it just slides and doesn't roll - USELESS! Luckily I bought 2 of each type to test.. the open foam rollers are the ones to use.

[AntonZ]

I cannot tell from personal experience and I am not going to try. My gut feeling says it is going to be very ugly. While it may look fine on exterior walls, I don't want 1/4" chunks on my cabs.


Tonight I can take a picture from the very foam roller that did my pair of wedges as well as the first coat on my SLA-pro's if you like, 67baja. Pics of the finish are on these here boards.

[LelandCrooks]

I cannot find rollers like the genuine ones from Duratex. And I have access to a couple of hardware wholesale companies. They're just different. Other foam rollers will work, but none give the same kind of texture of the Duratex ones.

[Bruce Weldy]

I cannot find rollers like the genuine ones from Duratex. And I have access to a couple of hardware wholesale companies. They're just different. Other foam rollers will work, but none give the same kind of texture of the Duratex ones.

And that's why I buy my duratex rollers (and my hair rollers) from Leland.

[LelandCrooks]

And that's why I buy my duratex rollers (and my hair rollers) from Leland.