This week I got the chance to review ROTA!’s Silver Stripe and Foam Mini Roller Refill Kit. I’ve been meaning to test and review the different sleeves for a while to see how they compare to other similar products on the market.
The set consists of one small stick frame, ROTA! Foam and Silver Stripe mini refills and a small tray.
Foam Mini Roller Sleeves
The very first thing I noticed when I took the set out of the packaging and put the foam sleeve onto the frame was that the sleeve fit tightly on the arm. There's no chance the sleeve will work itself loose like some competitor products do.
I used the foam refill in shellac primer to take them to the ultimate test. Over the past years I've had foam sleeves come apart very quickly when using them with shellac paints, but these sleeves didn't come apart at all. They left a perfect finish for the primer coat on my pine doors.
Silver Stripe Mini Roller Sleeves
The Silver Stripe sleeve fit tightly and securely onto the frame just like the Foam sleeve did. One thing I always do with new sleeves is to wrap them in masking tape to remove any loose fibres. This is a little trick that has on numerous occasions saved me time and my temper!
I was surprised how much paint the Silver Stripe refill was able to hold, given it is such a small roller sleeve. I was even more impressed when it came to unloading the paint onto the surface. I used the paint roller to mist a small cupboard and it left a nice smooth and flat finish. Admittedly it should have been a job for a bigger sleeve but with the amount of paint the sleeve was able to hold it was a good choice for this project. The mini refill laid off nicely, didn’t cause a heavy stipple effect and washed out easily without clinging to the paint.
As a professional painter and decorator, I like to use tools and equipment that save me time, money and frustration. This little set is definitely a very handy pack to keep in the van.