How to paint without having the roller streaks left. I want a smooth finish without roller marks. thanks?

I';m using a 3/8'; nap roller but streak still appear.How to paint without having the roller streaks left. I want a smooth finish without roller marks. thanks?
Use a roller cover with short nap, like 1/4 inch or less. Roll all directions, not just up and down. Keep the ends of the roller cover as clean as you can, without alot of excess paint. If the roller cover doesn't fit the handle well it can allow paint to go INSIDE the roller cover and come back out when rolling leaving a thick place. If it is not a very large area you might consider using a brush instead of a roller.How to paint without having the roller streaks left. I want a smooth finish without roller marks. thanks?
After applying thousands of gallons of paint, I offer this.





Too much paint on the nap, and too long a time spent in the process in each area, perhaps.





The paint issue is easy to solve, just roll off excess, in the tray or 5 gal. bucket Grid, and apply to the wall,,,THEN after covering, go back over in multiple directions GENTLY. Any decent paint,,,given proper flow and dry time, allowing air bubble to also resolve, should look like it was a spray job. I also suggest for brushes or rollers, wet them first and remove excess water. In a brush especially that will allow that paint won't collect and harden in the heel of the brush as rapidly. Then too I rinse my paint equipment often, to avoid ';buildup';





I also could assume 3/8 isn't giving you enough coverage the first time. Perhaps you're going over the same area more than once?





I'd switch up to a half inch nap,,, unless you want a glass like surface, in which case I might try the foam roller covers, whcih I have great success with. ';Texture'; is a natural byproduct of rolling, but lines, streaks overlap runs can be eliminated easily.





Another suggestion, not strictly related. If you have to apply a second coat,,,please wait until the first is completely dry. The issue is that you'd likely be PULLING paint from the first coat, causing even more visible texturing.





Rev. Steven
Then you are using too much paint on the roller if you are getting streaks. Either that or you are using a really crappy roller. Get paint on the roller, roll it once or twice on the pan, then try to paint the wall.
Painting....is the easiest and cheapest way of creating a better living space and protecting ourselves and our home.....it also seems to be the most misunderstood function a homeowner can take on. Some basic rules of thumb to make the job easier for inside or outside painting are;





1)When estimating amount of paint needed, measure the walls length and height, multiply them and get the total square footage. For instance, if the wall height is 7.5 feet, always round up for ease of math to 8 and if the wall is 10 feet long, that’s 80 square feet. Now if the room has four equal walls, that’s an easy equation, just take 80 x 4 and forget the windows and door ways, just keep it simple and multiply to get the total square footage of the walls, and in this case it’s 320 sf. If the ceiling is to be painted, measure the wall length on the short and long walls. A 15 by 20 room would be 300 sf, a 10 x 10 room would be 100 square feet. So, a 10 x10 room with 8 foot high walls would equal 320 sf of wall surface and 100 sf of ceiling, that’s a total of 420 square feet of surface to paint. Each paint manufacturer lists on the can how many square feet of coverage you can expect per gallon. Using that information and the fact that no matter how you paint, you’ll always need two coats, then you will need two gallons for the 10 x 10 room in the example.


2)When painting against moldings or door and window trim, tape the joint with blue tape. Make sure to burnish the tape so it sticks well. Do this to the entire area you have taped. Then, using some acrylic/latex caulking, put a thin bead on the edge of the tape where it meets the trim. Smooth it out ensuring good coverage and let it dry, usually for a bout 2 hours. Once it is dry, paint the edge covering the tape and the caulking. When you’re finished painting, remove the tape and you’ll have a perfectly trimmed molding, door or window casing.


3)When painting with a roller (1/2'; nap), use a roller pan and load your roller often and keep it full of paint. A big mistake a lot of people make is not using enough paint. Load up your roller or brush with paint constantly. If you’re thinking you want to minimize the amount of paint you’re going to use to save moeny, remember, they won’t take a premixed color back if you have any leftover, so you might as well use it all! You’ll find it a lot easier to paint if you keep your brush or roller full.


4)Cutting in with a brush is a difficult task for many people to master. A general rule of thumb is to keep your brush full of paint and drag the bristles across the edge of your work creating a bead of paint that moves with the bristles. It’s difficult to do, but with a little practice on the wall before you paint, you can create some nice straight lines. But if you just can’t get it down, try the tip above.


5)Always prime outside bare wood. This cannot be stressed enough. Whether it is a fence, a shed or the house, any outside wood, especially non-pressure treated wood MUST be primed first. The primer penetrates the surface of the wood and bonds to the wood best. I prefer an oil based primer, then a latex top coat. And remember, once the wood is primed, you only have a couple of weeks to get a top coat on the surface, check with the manufacturer and read the label. One last note, priming over existing paint is a waste of time and money. Primer is made for bare wood.


6)A good acrylic/latex caulk and lightweight spackle are a best friend for those painting a room. The caulking can be used to fill in unsightly joints and cracks, equal to or less than ¼”. And spackle can be used to fill in nails holes and also as a gap filler. Scraping the walls with a 6 in metal drywall knife is a good practice too, removing bumps and peeled paint.





I hope this information is valuable and helps you. I can be reached at rentahandyman@yahoo.com if you have any further questions.
Use a spray gun.
My husband is a painter and I have done lots of painting myself and you do not have enough paint on your roller,what they call dry rolling.You do need to get some access paint off your roller so that it don't drip but not to much. You also want to roll the opposite way of which your roller is facing because some paint will seep from the back side of roller and will leave marks,but if you roll the other way the roller will pick those marks up and give you a smooth look.
Apply the paint in an X fashion,crisscrossing to cover the surface. Work an area about 2 foot wide. Then start again at the top and roll down 1 roller width at a time overlapping an inch or so.