OldCarGuy said:
Are you sure what kind of roller they sold you? The type of solvents in Armorseal 1000 will loosen the fibers from the core on a standard inexpensive roller. Solvent resistant rollers with a phenolic core are needed. They are specially designed for epoxy industrial applications. The fabric is pressed on the phenolic coated hard-fiber board core which resists normal exposure to MEK, Acetone, etc. work best. I had to order them from a larger Sherwin William’s store and they cost closer to $10.00 each.
They really didn't make a "recommendation" per say other than use a solvent resistant roller with a phenolic core, which what I used (see first pict). For a second opinion, I went to another Sherwin Williams store tonight and asked them which roller I should use. They gave me roller below in the second picture stating that I want something solvent resistant core, 3/8". They also said I could use the other roller below (third picture) in 3/8". The third picture is another roller that a friend of mine gave me. I also talked to a painter friend of mine today and he suggested the same thing that Sherwin Williams suggested, but recommended a 1/2" nap as he said the 1/2" rollers are a denser weave compared to a 3/8". I thought completely the opposite. I tested all three rollers for lint removal.
Linzer Pylam, 3/8"
This is the dreaded roller I used on my second coat. Description claims "Hi Density Fabric, Moisture and Solvent Resistant Core, Professional Results". I bought this at Home Depot after looking through the myriad of rollers they have on the shelf. Not many explicity said "solvent resistant", most were lower end rollers often found in the contractor pack deals... so I went with this one figuring it didn't matter which brand I purchased as long it was a quality roller that was solvent resistant.
I took this new roller out of the wrap tonight, stuck it end up on my knee, wrapped my hand around the roller and ran my hand up and down it several times. Sure enough a bunch of lint, mostly larger in size, came off of the roller and continued to as long as I was running my hand over it. Eventually the large lint stopped coming off, proceeded by smaller lint. Lint continued to come off the roller as long as I ran my hand up and down it, albeit in lesser and lesser quantity...not good.
Sherwin Williams, Contractor Series, High Solvent, 3/8"
This roller at first seemed to have all the specs I wanted, "For applying high solvent based epoxies, urethanes and fiberglass resins", "specially formulated epoxy to adhere fabric to core", "Heavy duty, solvent resistant core for repeated uses". The core on this roller looks different than the other 2 rollers - it's a slightly thicker, blue type of plastic.
During the lint test however, a bunch of small sized pieces of lint continued to come off of the roller for as long as I ran my hand over it. I gave up after about 20 seconds.
Sherwin Williams, Contractor Series, Soft Woven, 1/2"
This roller faired the best out of the three. Claims to be "woven fabric for lint free painting", "heavy duty, solvent resistant core for repeated use", "extra density for the smoothest paint finish".
Upon testing it for lint, it was clear that this roller was different than the others. I got very few small fibers (barely any) after running my hand over it. I did get several small white pieces of what appeared to be adhesive from the core. These eventually dissipated. I'm assuming the woven fabric is what is responsible for the quality of this roller.
OldCarGuy, I'm going to try and find out which roller you bought. Hopefully I can find one.
If anyone else has another specific recommendation, let me know, otherwise I'm leaning towards the third Sherwin Williams roller.
I tried to tell my wife not to come back, but it didn't work. She's still here!