Helps to achieve a very smooth finish. They are designed for painting feature walls or walls where you want to get a really smooth finish with less “roller stipple than 12mm rollers”. You can actually use an “All Purpose roller” on all surfaces in your home, although you will always get a better finish by using the special nap roller designed for a specific surface and purpose
The Purdy 18-inch roller frame.
The main benefit of painting with 18-inch roller frames is the time you save rolling large walls and ceilings. I used a 9-inch paint roller exclusively for many years, and I still use them, but when it comes to painting big ceilings and walls, I use my 18-inch roller to get the job done faster.
These rollers are great time savers, but they do have a couple drawbacks to be aware of.
The bad part about rolling drywall with a huge roller is the additional weight compared to a small 9-inch roller. An 18-inch paint roller is a little heavy once it becomes saturated with paint, but it's manageable, and you'll get a solid workout rolling walls with one all day. If you have shoulder and back problems, though, an over-sized roller like this might not be the best option for you.
When you buy an 18-inch paint roller, you also have to buy the matching paint bin because regular paint trays are too small for the gigantic frame. Cleaning the roller and the frame, along with the big paint bin, does take longer than cleaning small rollers and trays.
Tip: One trick to make the clean-up easier is to place a plastic garbage bag inside the paint bin to catch the paint. At the end of the job, simply dispose of the bag instead of having to scrub paint out of the bin.
Even though the clean-up does take a little longer, it is still worth using a large roller to paint your walls and ceilings. When used in combination with the Goose Neck brush extender, big rollers are perfect for painting high walls because they cover the surface so much faster than a standard 9-inch paint roller. I have back and neck problems, so the faster I can finish painting a huge ceiling or wall, the better.
Two popular paint rollers in the 18-inch size are the one from Purdy and the other by Wooster. I haven't used the big roller from Wooster, but I use the Purdy 18-inch roller with a frame that adjusts from 12 to 18-inches.
I have yet to find an 18-inch paint roller frame that functions flawlessly. Years ago, I owned one from another brand that would occasionally fall out of the frame while rolling and make a huge mess. The Purdy roller I use now hasn't fallen out of the frame, but sometimes the clips that hold the roller in place come loose (mostly when painting ceilings) which is annoying. Thankfully though, this doesn't happen frequently.
There are two plastic clips and two screws on top of the frame that allow you to adjust the size of the roller you want to use down to 12-inches. The pins that hold the roller need to be locked securely into the end caps on the sides of the roller sleeve.
I use the Purdy White Dove, lint-free, 18-inch roller sleeve that matches this frame. This roller comes with end caps that the pins on the frame lock into to hold the roller in place. I believe you can use this frame with other roller sleeves too, not just the Purdy roller.
Rolling ceilings with this roller is easier than walls, but it's definitely heavier than using a 9-inch sleeve. With the White Dove roller, the coverage is good when using a 3/4-inch nap. The slim design of the roller frame also allows you to roll closer to wall and ceiling corners.
The placement of the screws and clips on the frame should be on top of the frame instead of directly in front of the paint roller itself. Due to this design, the screws and clips get caked with paint while rolling and need to be wiped off to function properly. I wrap tape around these parts to protect them from wet paint.
One thing I really like about the design of this roller frame is that it allows you to roll up to corners closer than other 18-inch paint rollers. The arms of the frame hold the paint roller in place with two locking pins. The design is simple, but doesn't always work correctly. The pins come loose sometimes and require re-adjusting. The roller frame is compatible with any extendable pole for painting.
The Purdy 18-inch roller frame is definitely worth using if you're painting large ceilings because you can finish the job a lot faster. The roller frame isn't perfect, but it's superior to the one I used before from another brand that constantly fell apart while painting. I use this roller mostly for painting large ceilings and high walls. Yes, it's heavy, but I can roll out a big ceiling in way less time than it takes using a 9-inch paint roller.
I'd like to see an improved locking mechanism on the frame to hold the roller more firmly in place. Having to stop and play with the clips in the middle of rolling is annoying, but as I explained earlier, this problem doesn't happen frequently. I've been using the Purdy 18-inch roller now for over five years and the plastic casing has held up fine. I haven't had to replace it yet.
This roller is very useful for painting high walls and big ceilings that would normally take more time to paint with a small 9-inch roller. The downside of using a big paint roller like this is it's harder to maneuver between light and outlet fixtures, so what I do is use a 9-inch roller to paint tight spaces between fixtures and the big roller for the wide open spaces.
Price-wise, you're going to spend more money for a large paint roller set up like this than you would for a small 9-inch roller, because you need to buy the big paint bin that goes with it, as well as the 18-inch roller sleeve. However, the cost is a small price to pay for the amount of time you're going to save on your project, though. If you take care of the roller frame and sleeve, it will also last a long time.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2018 Matt G.