Best paint roller: 5 top picks for smooth and easy application

For any DIY project, the best paint roller is a must. Whether you're painting your whole house from top to bottom or are giving your kitchen a refresh with the best kitchen paint, you’re going to need the right tools for the job.

Paint brushes are great for smaller areas and getting that neat and tidy finish around the edges, but for the most part, using a good paint roller is the easiest way to get full and even coverage in the most efficient way. Our pick of the best paint rollers have been road-tested to ensure a smooth finish and easy application no matter what the DIY job in hand.

For more decorating advice, tips and hacks head over to our hub page. 

The 5 best paint roller options

If you’re planning on painting all the rooms in your home, then this Coral Complete 12 piece Roller Set is a great place to start: you’ll get three different pile lengths and two different sized rollers to allow you to achieve maximum coverage with a smooth finish. The set also comes with a paintbrush that very handily has a tool for opening paint pots at the end of its handle.

This Diall 7" Polyamide Extendable Roller is good for more textured surfaces, to make sure no areas are missed and the color goes on thick and smoothly. At seven inches, these rollers make it easy to make good coverage quickly across larger surface areas. It's got a soft grip handle that makes its comfier if you are working for hours, and the sleeve can be removed too if you need to switch to a shorter handle.

If you need to repaint your ceiling, then Wagner TurboRoll 550 the is the best paint roller for the job. With a 9 inch roller and long pile, it will certainly ensure even coverage on both smooth and textured ceilings, and it also has an extendable handle of up to 2.4 meters so you can reach higher areas with ease. It’s lightweight and easy to handle, and has a battery operated turbo motor to help you get the job done with minimum effort. Simply push the button and away it goes.  

If you just need a basic paint roller to do a small paint job, then this Dulux roller is light and easy to handle with a soft grip. Made from micro-pile fabric, this roller is said to be particularly good at applying a smooth, even layer of paint across both walls and ceilings. The tray has a deep well for filling with paint, and the easy-clean squeegee allows you to remove excess paint so that you can have a mess-free painting session.  

If you’re painting a much smaller area or perhaps an item of furniture, then these mini rollers could be a lot more suitable for helping you get a much more even coverage. They’re comfortable to hold and the five interchangeable rollers are great if you are creating a design with different colorsm as you can easily slip them on and off. The paint rollers also come with a paint tray.

How to buy the best paint roller for you

For painting interior walls, it’s best to opt for a set of rollers in different sizes, as this will allow for greater versatility and a smooth finish, even in the tightest of corners. You'll find more advice on this in our guide to how to paint rooms and walls.

On the other hand, if you are painting furniture, then smaller rollers will allow you to get into the nooks and crannies while maintaining a smooth coat.

Most rollers will come with paint trays, but not all, so factor that in if you need one. Standard pile length is medium for most DIY jobs, but you may prefer to opt for a longer pile on textured or larger surface areas. 

For more advice and inspiration, make sure to take a look at our dedicated paint hub page. You may also benefit from browsing our buyer's guide to the best paint brushes too.

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