After 15 years of painting walls, I finally stopped buying cheap roller covers

For years I bought those 3-pack roller covers for $5 at the hardware store. Figured paint is paint, why spend more? Then last spring I was painting my living room in Portland and the cheap nap started shedding fibers into the paint halfway through. Had to stop, pick fuzz out of wet paint, and then buy better ones at twice the price anyway. Switched to a mid-grade microfiber cover for about $4 each and the difference is night and day. No shedding, way smoother finish, and I use less paint because it actually lays it on even. Anyone else have a tool you regret cheaping out on for so long?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim_ramirez31mo ago

Real talk though, are paint fibers really that big of a deal? @leehall dropped 12 bucks on one brush and acts like it saved his marriage. I get that cheap stuff can be annoying but you can just pick the fuzz out and keep rolling, it's not brain surgery. Bought a 5-pack of cheap rollers at the hardware store last month, found one big fuzzy piece that came off in the first minute, flicked it onto the drop cloth and moved on with my life.

robertcarr1mo ago

Bought a "value pack" of paintbrushes once that shed bristles like a golden retriever in summer. Ended up picking dried paint flecks out of my teeth on a deck job. Learned my lesson real fast after that. Now I just get the mid-range stuff and sleep better.

leehall1mo ago

That happened to me with a 4-pack of 2-inch angled brushes from the hardware store. Honestly the bristles were coming out before I even got the brush wet. I switched to a Purdy brand brush a few years back and I'm still using the same one today. It cost like 12 bucks but it's saved me from picking paint flakes out of literally everything.