Tools + Best Practices for Application
The best Roller Frames, Covers, Brushes, and Extending Poles make a big difference. And they might not cost more that the crap you’d buy without any guidance.
Farrell Calhoun stocks all my favorite stuff, but I put links to online retailers in all the photos below.
Wooster’s Sherlock 4 ft. - 8 ft. Adjustable Extension Pole is just right for this work.
Don’t chintz on spiked shoes.
If this is your career, you should absolutely spend the money to get a quality pair. Photo at right linked to the Concrete Decor Store; support your local decorative concrete supply store if you can.
Few things are more frustrating than a wack roller frame.
8 in. Big Ben Roller Frame by Wooster
The Big Ben's green double-thick polypropylene core resists water, solvents, and cracking, and it's a shed-resistant woven setup built for primers, urethanes, and epoxies. CleanPrime carries acetone and toluene, and a cheap frame core can soften or seize when solvent works into it — the solvent-resistant core is the whole point. It's specifically marketed for quick application of epoxy, urethane, and polyaspartic floor coatings, holds 12" to 18" covers, and threads onto an extension pole.
9 in. Sherlock Roller Frame by Wooster
This rolls straighter, smoother, and the roller never comes off unexpectedly in my experience. Though you may need to press the little metal flanges out occasionally to keep the tension up. Get good tools and take care of them. Use your acetone sprayer and your microfibers after each use to keep it clean and functional. Be more of a craftsman than a consumer here.
Wooster Pro/Doo-Z, 3/8" nap (9" and 18")
The fabric's interlocked to keep it from shedding, and it's built for epoxy floor finishes and catalyzed urethanes specifically — not a wall-paint cover you're hoping holds up. Run the 9" for tight work, jump to the 18" to move across open floor. The 3/8" works for everybody. Some pros go faster with a 3/4" or 1" nap version (pull more material out when you dip), and if you are coating something rough, a thicker nap is mission-critical.
Find a mediocre brush locally.
You don't need something super fancy. However, chip brushes aka China-bristle brushes suck (unless you want bristles left in your project).
What makes high-dollar brushes nice is how they lay out finicky, water-based paints. Clean-Prime is the opposite of that. Your local decorative concrete supply house probably sells the perfect thing - the link and picture at left is of a 1.5-inch “Professional Quality” brush for $6. Since you are just cutting in corners, paying extra for 2” or 3” doesn’t make sense to me.