These Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers don’t look or feel like anything else out there, they’re not made like anything else out there, and something about their furry ginger-ness made me want to give them a go!
Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers – Key Information
What are they for? Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers were designed for use with water-based paints for woodwork, but actually they’re great with emulsion too. Obviously not for a whole wall, but for those awkward difficult-to-get-to spaces, blending in your cutting-in, etc…. I wouldn’t use them with oil-based paints, but having used them for a few weeks now, they seem to work well with pretty much anything water-based.
How do they work? The Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock rollers have a foam inner layer which soaks up and releases plenty of paint. This layer is surrounded by an outer layer of orange fine flock fibres which give a smooth finish without shedding bits into your paint.
Where can I get them? I don’t think any of the major decorators’ merchants stock these, so you’ll have to shop online. They’ll cost about £14 for a pack of ten, which is about twice the price of foam rollers, and fractionally more than Two Fussy Blokes, but they’re not going to break the bank.
And I found that they wash out really well, so you will get multiple uses out of them. I’ve had two of them on the go for most of the last three weeks, washing them out each night, and they feel as good as new. Click here to see online prices.
Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers In Use
The Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock mini rollers fit on any standard 4” roller frame. Over the last three weeks I’ve used them in Dulux Diamond Matt emulsion, Teknos Futura w/b gloss, Benjamin Moore Scuff-X Satin, and Bedec Aqua Advanced w/b gloss. They last well, wash out easily and give a nice finish. Here’s what I particularly like about them:
- The foam layer holds plenty of paint, which means you can work quickly
- After repeated washing they still keep their shape really well
- Like foam rollers, they have one concave end and one sharp right-angled end, so if you need to roll right to the edge of something, you can with the right-angled end, but if you need to blend in you can use the concave end
- Most important of all, the finish!
The Finish
I’m not going to say that you’ll get a perfect finish– any roller is going to give you some texture. In my experience, using the Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock mini rollers with emulsion gave a great finish. Using them with water-based gloss on new grained panel doors (where the texture of the doors is quite prominent) was very good, you could probably get away without needing to lay off.
Using Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers with water-based satin on older panel doors where the texture is less prominent (because there are layers of paint on there already!)
The texture was good, but was noticeable, so a bit of laying off with a brush was needed. But for speed of working, because they hold a lot of paint for their size, you can get a nice even coverage of paint over a decent area, and then lay off. I got a lot done in a short period of time with a finish I was really happy with.
Final Thoughts on Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers
These little ginger guys have worked hard over the last three weeks, and helped get me back on schedule when I was a bit behind. They don’t give a perfect finish, in some situations you will still need to lay off, and I haven’t done a side-by-side comparison with Two Fussy Blokes, but I’m very impressed with these little guys, I’ll be using them again! I’d say they’re up there as some of the best rollers available.
Review Summary
Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers Review - Decorator's forum UK
These Pioneer Velvet Poly Flock Mini Rollers don’t look or feel like anything else out there, they’re not made like anything else out there, and something about their furry ginger-ness made me want to give them a go!
Product Brand: Pioneer Brush Co.
4.3
Pros
- Great for all water-based paints.
- Fairly smooth finish.
- No shedding.
- Reasonably priced.
- They wash out well.
- Holds a surprising amount of paint.
Cons
- There is some texture left on your paint finish.
- No good for oil-based paint.
FAQs
What are foam paint rollers used for?
Foam paint rollers are normally used to apply oil-based gloss. Polyflock rollers like the Pioneer ones on this blog are made up of foam and fabric. They are used to apply water-based paint to woodwork.
What are the disadvantages of using foam paint rollers?
Foam paint rollers don’t hold loads of material. They’re good for applying sticky paints, but not modern water-based products.
Can you wash Polyflock paint rollers?
These rollers are cheap enough to be used once and then thrown away. Trying to wash them would be difficult because the foam is dense.
Why is my paint bubbling when using a roller?
This normally happens when your roller traps air as you’re applying paint. Sometimes you can dilute the paint and ‘lay off’ with the roller after applying the paint. This should stop the bubbles, but if not, you may need to buy a better roller.
I have used the prodec orange flock and lime green ones foam both pretty good, the thing is with two fussy blokes short pile they designed not to be laid off with brush and leave an almost spray like finsh.
Obviously this saves time and with heat etc not laying off water based is a better finish.