Is there any way to avoid brush and roller marks when I am applying paint?

 

There are ways and means, unfortunately only known to the professional contractors but we’ll let you in on a great secret. Firstly, you did not mention whether you were talking about emulsions or oil paints, but I’ll cover both scenarios to play safe. The basic reason you get roller marks on your paint job in the first place is because your paint is drying faster than it gets a chance to flow out properly. Paint is generally manufactured and supplied to perform best in a particular temperature range or certain average conditions for the climate we live in. If you are applying either oil or water based paint and those ideal conditions are breached so to speak,  you are then likely to get some premature drying when each pass of your roller or brush does not ‘knit’ properly with the one before, hence the appearance of those unsightly marks and streaks.

 

In the past, people would add some water to emulsion or white spirits to anything oil based which made the paint ‘looser’ to work with, but with some very negative consequences for the paint job, such as vastly reduced hiding power, possibly requiring extra coats, premature dulling on glossy finishes. In fact excess water takes the body out of emulsions and white spirits does the same to oil paints, but there was no alternative until the last few years when various paint additives started coming on to the market. Basically, there are two additives that I’m aware of available in this area to cure your roller or brush marks, Floetrol for all emulsions and Owatrol Oil for all oil paints and varnishes etc. (don’t confuse the two)

You simply add them to the relevant paint as required instead of water or spirits and they do not change the colour, on the contrary, they give you a much nicer finish and save you lots of needless pull and drag effect. Floetrol is the business especially when used with all those fashionable deep colours that tend to show up horrible roller marks regularly. Its also great to help the hiding on low hide colours like reds, yellows, and those dreaded low hide vinyl silks etc. It also works great with all kinds of colour washing, rag-rolling etc. Floetrol does not affect the paint colour or sheen. Owatrol Oil is now used a lot by the pros in all oil based gloss, water based gloss, satin wood, varnish, primers, undercoat, and so on. This stuff can even be mixed up to 50% with any colour oil based paint to make an amazing ‘solid colour stain’ which is amazing on any porous surface like wood, concrete, old roof tiles etc. and it lasts for ages. Another great benefit of the Owatrol Oil is it greatly helps paint adhesion. Owatrol and Floetrol are available in most of the main paint outlets.

You could also log on to the distributors website at www.igoe.ie (painting products section)