Hamilton Paint Roller Review – by a decorator

Hamilton paint rollers are quite possibly the brand leader amongst professional decorators. You can buy them online by clicking here, or almost every trade decorating centre in the UK. As a professional myself, it’s a brand I use regularly. So, I thought I’d take the time to write a quick Hamilton roller sleeve review for the Decorators Forum UK. I hope you find it useful.

I’m going to talk about the different paint rollers that Hamilton manufacture. Each of these roller sleeves is available in 4 inch (mini), 9 inch, 12 inch and 15 inch, so just choose the one that best suits the job in hand. Personally, I use the mini rollers for painting doors and behind radiators, the 9 inch for some walls and the 12 inch for larger jobs and ceilings.

Hamilton Perfection Short Pile Sleeve – White

This is a great roller sleeve for trim paints such as undercoat, gloss, satinwood and eggshell, regardless of whether it’s water, or oil-based paint. According to the packet, you can also use them in emulsion, although I wouldn’t as you generally get some track marks with any short pile roller sleeve on walls and ceilings. But for glossing doors or painting skirting boards, there is nothing better in my honest opinion.

It’s made with microfiber, meaning it won’t shed, and the material Hamilton use will not be affected by any of the solvents in oil-based paint. It distributes paint nice and evenly, making it easy for you to manipulate the material as you need.

Perfection Medium Pile Sleeve – Green

These are my preferred roller sleeve for walls on most domestic decorating jobs, especially when I’m using a good quality, or durable emulsion. For a medium pile roller, these hold a lot of paint, meaning you can get it on, then lay it off.

The reason I choose to use Hamilton medium pile (Hammy Green) for emulsioning walls is the smooth finish I can achieve when using it. There is very little in the way of texture on the finished wall.

Hamilton Perfection Long Pile Roller Sleeve

I use the long pile sleeve for ceilings, house bashing, and exterior masonry. They’re great to use on the internal of a property when you need to apply a lot of material on every coat, but the overall finish does not need to be completely smooth. You need a long pile sleeve when applying masonry paint so you can push the paint into every little crack.

These Hamilton Perfection long pile are great. They do everything they need to do, hold plenty of paint and don’t shed loads of fibres (although there will be some on the first use).

Hamilton Perfection Roller Cage

I thought I’d mention the Hamilton roller cage, which is what you’d use for the 9” sleeve. It consists of a robust wooden handle with a deep thread to attach your pole. The arm and cage are made from a chrome.

What sets this cage apart from others is how tight everything is. The sleeve fits snugly over the cage, the arm is ridged and the connection between frame and pole is solid. The only movement is the rotation of the cage on the arm, which is free spinning.  This is a quality bit of kit!

Click here for more information on any of the above products.

Brand Summary

FAQs

Where are Hamilton rollers made?

Hamilton rollers are made in Bromsgrove, which is in England. Orkla (who own Hamilton) is one of the only manufacturers to still produce rollers in the UK.

How many times should you reuse a paint roller?

As a Decorator, I tend to stick with good-quality paint rollers. I use them on maybe a dozen jobs, sometimes more, before throwing the sleeve away and replacing it with another. You can easily paint a house three times over with the same paint roller.

How to stop paint splatter when using a roller?

A good quality paint roller will reduce splatter, as will good quality paint. Heavy materials like contract matt splatter more.

How hard should you press when rolling paint?

Not very hard at all. If you need to apply pressure, then you’re using the wrong type of paint roller for the paint you’re applying. If you don’t change your roller, you will be left with an inferior finish.

Will roller marks go away when paint dries?

Paint dries at different rates, so rolled paint often looks patchy while it’s slightly wet but dries uniformed. However, heavy textured roller marks don’t dry out and neither does flashing, so it depends on what’s causing the roller marks.