# Getting rid of Roller/Nap marks



## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

Hello,

I started the long process of painting my cabinets and it has turned into quite a nightmare. 

I bought Kilz premium, general finishes snow white milk paint and general finishes top coat as well.

I started by sanding everything to 180 grit, then primed everything with kilz premium.

I have been getting nap marks from a 3/8 purple roller I bought at lowes or home depot and cant get the marks to go away no matter what I do. Light pressure, medium pressure doesn't matter.

I stripped all of the paint, resanded everything again and I went to lowes and bought some of the foam rollers that were supposed to be buttery smooth...still have nap marks they just look spongy now.

I'm so disgusted and have wasted my vacation on this can anyone help or give advice


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

I'm gonna say it's your technique and quite possibly your choice of roller sleeves. When rolling, you apply very little pressure. I never use anything less than 1/2" roller sleeve. Anything that is blue or purple is usually lower end quality. Buy some Purdy Marathons or some quality Wooster sleeves. Heck, even try a microfiber sleeve. The roller sleeve should be saturated and loaded up with paint, so much so that it should ALMOST be dripping with paint. Short, quick runs are best to get the paint on the surface and then long runs to even it all out. Then, let it be. KILZ premium would be considered low end primer, full of fillers which is part of why you have roller marks. Hopefully you pulled all the cabinet doors and you are painting them as they lay flat on a table or sawhorses.

Others will chime in with more good suggestions.


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## cocomonkeynuts (Jan 12, 2018)

Better quality primer like BM 046 or anything better than kilz really. Wooster microplush or have them sprayed


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## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

Thank you both, I thought the sleeves I bought were of good quality, guess not! Also, I wasnt really loaded them as suggested either more or less putting some on the roller and rolling it across the ridges on my roller pan then whatever was left onto the cabinets.

Does this mean I again have to start all over? Also, the doors are indeed laying flat elevated on those little pyramid risers they sell at HD. I went and bought a graco Lts 15 in hopes of getting a better finish although better, the boxes are still orange peeled as I cant really spray inside of my home


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Agree 100%.
I got stuck one time using that "Milk" paint because the lady's know it all son had looked it up on Pinterest and he said it was the best you can buy.
Even though this boy had never painted anything his whole life.
It was like trying to paint with real milk, total waste of time and money.
Go to a real paint store not a box store, tell them what your doing next time so you only have to do it one time.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

Post some pics so we can see what you're seeing. Might be something simple that we can guide you through. Any time you roll, you get stipple/orange peel. It's just the nature of the beast. Forget what I said about 1/2" roller sleeves, you DO need a smaller nap roller sleeve to reduce the orange peel effect. Mohair is perfect for that. You will still get some stipple, but it won't be as bad. 

I've brushed and rolled hundreds of kitchen cabinets over the years and not once have I had anyone complain about the stipple left from my roller. If you use the right primer and paint that levels out to a glass-like finish (SW's ProClassic is one) you will be amazed at how good they look.


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## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

Gymschu said:


> Post some pics so we can see what you're seeing. Might be something simple that we can guide you through. Any time you roll, you get stipple/orange peel. It's just the nature of the beast. Forget what I said about 1/2" roller sleeves, you DO need a smaller nap roller sleeve to reduce the orange peel effect. Mohair is perfect for that. You will still get some stipple, but it won't be as bad.
> 
> I've brushed and rolled hundreds of kitchen cabinets over the years and not once have I had anyone complain about the stipple left from my roller. If you use the right primer and paint that levels out to a glass-like finish (SW's ProClassic is one) you will be amazed at how good they look.


Thank you for replying again, I will try to get some pictures this evening of the worst areas, im quite embarrassed at how they turned out honestly...do I have to start fresh as in strip everything off again or could I buy a higher quality primer and lightly scuff the kilz? I feel like I've wasted all this time and money but I don't mind spending money on products to help rid me of these issues so any and all suggestions for products for the whole process is greatly appreciated thank you again!!


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

Seriously, quit the priming. Its ALL about the rolling technique. 3/8" roller naps shouldnt even be sold... They are completely unsuitable for walls. If it is a smooth wall, use a 1/2". If it is textured, go for a 3/4". The 3/8" nap is your entire problem... You DO NOT need to prime a wall before painting unless it is raw drywall or mud! Anyone who suggests priming a previously painted wall does not know what they're talking about.


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## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

woodco said:


> Seriously, quit the priming. Its ALL about the rolling technique. 3/8" roller naps shouldnt even be sold... They are completely unsuitable for walls. If it is a smooth wall, use a 1/2". If it is textured, go for a 3/4". The 3/8" nap is your entire problem... You DO NOT need to prime a wall before painting unless it is raw drywall or mud! Anyone who suggests priming a previously painted wall does not know what they're talking about.


Everything I've read says to prime your bare cabinets...its suggested here too I've seen


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

I don't use a 3/8 roller either but that may not have been your problem. One time we painted 4,000 sq ft with Benjamin Moore Peal. The walls looked like an iridescent suit from the 60s. You are all old enough to remember those suits. Of course the BM paint store wanted to sell us another roller. When I called the 800 BM customer service #, they told me that WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get with BM Pearl. All BS.


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## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

Here are some images hopefully you can see the texture I'm getting


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

A primer at this point serves no purpose. You'll need to sand in order to level out the orange peel/roller stipple.


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## siffleur (Aug 19, 2013)

*Priming and painting cabinets*



Lifesfordeath said:


> Here are some images hopefully you can see the texture I'm getting


Lfd, thanks for posting pics of the cabinets you are trying to paint. Another photo taken a bit further away showing perhaps one wall of cabinets would also be nice so we can see what type of cabinets you are dealing with.

I am sure others here will have better advice, but here I go.

The paint stipple you now have on the painted cabinets will not go away with more paint and still look good. You either have to sand the stipple down or skim the stipple with something to fill in the low areas, sand, prime, then paint. Sorry, but that is how I see it.

As for a primer, probably the easiest for you to locate would be BIN primer. It dries down really flat to the surface with a short nap roller. 

I would shop around your area for 1/4" and 3/16" nap mini rollers, both in 4" and 6.5" lengths, then see which ones produce the finest finish for what you are doing. I have had good luck finding mini rollers at Sherwin Williams, but I would check out Benjamin Moore paint stores as well. 

I once repaired and painted a cabinet side panel to match the rest of the cabinets. The panel I painted looked about the same as the rest of the cabinets - which were sprayed, so you can get a nice smooth finish if you use the right nap roller and the right paint. 

Tell us what region of the country you live in and maybe someone can recommend a good cabinet paint that you can find in your area.

siffleur


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## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

siffleur

Thanks, I live in Virginia and do have a Benjamin Moore supplier near me as well as a sherwin Williams and James T Davis, what should I sand with grit wise you suppose? Wet sand ok with say, 180 or 220 or higher even?


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

Sorry. I thought this was about walls. Ignore what I said.

I've been using these. Its like a foam roller, but it has flock on it, sort of like a 1/8" nap. I dont think you can get much smoother. Use an extender or floetrol in your paint.http://www.whizzrollers.com/mini-rollers/flock-mini-rollers

as for sanding, You can start with 180, then up the grit to 320 or 400 to eliminate the possibility of scratches.


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## Lifesfordeath (Jul 27, 2018)

http://imgur.com/gallery/O2SjX0XThis is how they looked before and how I shouldve left them I suppose lol


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## siffleur (Aug 19, 2013)

Lifesfordeath said:


> http://imgur.com/gallery/O2SjX0XThis is how they looked before and how I shouldve left them I suppose lol


Measure twice, cut once. Next time, come here first and get advice before you do the work. Lesson learned I hope. We have all been there, so don't feel bad. 

siffleur


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I'd start with 120 or 150 grit - it will cut faster. IMO it's rare for residential painting to need anything finer than 220 grit for the final sanding.


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## woodco (Jun 11, 2017)

All the cabinet paints I've been using show 220 scratches. The last time I used Advance, even 320 showed if I used it right under the final coat. Of course, thats spraying. Doing them by hand would probably hide them better.


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