BiggerPockets

I've been painting cielings with kilz and have noticed the roller is leaving shreds of material all over the cieling. I've noticed this in offices and other houses too; both on walls and ceilings.

Does the quality of the roller need to be better or the quality of the paint? I also painted some walls with mid-grade sherwin williams and have noticed some shredding. Whats the secret to a smooth coat of paint with no shreds? :D

I painted houses to put myself through high school and college. But I don't have anything to add. Terri covered it very well.

Buy quality rollers, prep the walls properly, load the roller well, paint methodically, and clean/dry thoroughly afterward.

A few notes:

You said you were using Kilz. Is it the original oil-based primer or the newer water-based stuff? Trying to clean the oil-based stuff off an expensive roller is probably going to cost you a small fortune in solvent. You also said the word "smooth". Does that mean the walls and ceilings you're painting don't have any texture? Is they are truly smooth, then you want a roller with a short nap. A long nap is more likely to leave the fuzzies and they will be more noticeable on a smooth surface.

FWIW, I painted an entire house last year using the cheap 6-pack rollers (throw-away's) from Home Depot and relatively cheap Glidden paint without any problems. I don't waste time cleaning rollers as the paint never seems to come completely out.

The tip about loading the roller generously is also a good one. Don't try and force (squeeze) the paint from the roller. And DON'T keep going over the same spot every couple of minutes. Once the paint starts to set up, it gets very tacky and is likely to pull fibers from the roller. Just roll it on quick, let it dry, THEN go back for another coat.

Ok, gotta run, no time to proofread, catch ya later.

Higher quality roller will help a bit. Really you're letting the roller sit too deep in the paint for too long so it's loosening up the cardboard and the adhesive on the cardboard. I use Walmart rollers all the time with no shedding issues.

[[[.....you're letting the roller sit too deep in the paint for too long....]]]]

That must be it. I buy the cheapest rollers I can find, so I can throw them away and don't have to clean them.

I don't get fuzzies, but I don't dip the roller into the paint. I pour the paint up out of the well and onto the flat area of the tray by tipping the tray. I then roll the roller on the flat area to get paint on it.

I do it that way because if I get paint anywhere but the fleece, it seems to fling paint all over as the roller spins.

I use the cheap rollers and the cheapest pan liners and throw everything in the garbage instead of cleaning it.