A Very Basic Paint Roller, The Linzer Pipe Roller 6 1/2" Does What It Promises.

The Good: Durable, Easy to clean, Inexpensive
The Bad: Uncomfortable handle.
The Basics: For a solid, dependable, easy-to-clean paint roller frame that will not bend, the Linzer 6 1/2" Pipe Roller is the way to go!


As one who has done many painting projects around the house, I find myself often evaluating products I use based on their endurance. For housepainting projects, there are few rollers as durable as the Linzer Pipe Roller (6 1/2"), but because of its uncomfortable plastic grip, I find I cannot use it for more than five hours at a time. That said, this is a pretty minor inconvenience for a product that is otherwise inexpensive, easy-to-use and quite durable.

For those unfamiliar with a paint roller, the Linzer Pipe Roller is little more than a stainless steel dowel which has been bent so it may hold a paint roller brush (or cover). The 6 1/2" end of the Pipe Roller is a simple metal bar which a plastic spool with a sponge-like roller cover is inserted upon. This allows one to paint smooth, even strokes on all sorts of nonporous surfaces. The Pipe Roller is smooth metal, which allows the roller cover to turn uninhibited and paint nicely when covered with paint.

Perpendicular to the 6 1/2" bar which holds the paint roller cover is the handle. The Linzer Pipe Roller has a six inch plastic (perhaps fiberglass, it has never broken off for me to be sure) handle which one grips to solidly hold the paint roller. The only real problem with the Linzer Pipe Roller is that the grip is more square than rounded, so the grip is uncomfortable to hold onto and the longer one uses it, the faster one's hand fatigues.

That said, the Linzer Pipe Roller paint roller is a solid tool that is exceptionally durable and easy to clean. The difference between an inexpensive and a cheap paint roller is that cheap paint rollers become bent out of shape because they are so fragile. The Linzer Pipe Roller I have been using for years has the same tight angles - roller head is 90 degrees to the handle - as the day I bought it. It is made of solid stainless steel and this lives up to the promise of a paint roller by not wearing over time.

As well, the device is very easy-to-clean. Paint chips right off the stainless steel or it may be washed off while it is still wet. The roller heads may be disposed of easily enough simply by pulling them off.

The Linzer 6 1/2" pipe roller paint roller comes with a single brush roller. I was unimpressed by the head it came with because it absorbed a lot of paint before it would allow it to spread and I have since switched to another brand's 6 1/2" head (though I've found I can cheat and use a standard 9" head on this as well!

For those looking for a very basic paint roller, the Linzer 6 1/2" Pipe Roller works!

For paints, stains and other painting products, please check out my reviews of:
Shur-Line Teflon Paint Roller
DAP Weldwood Contac Cement
Dyson Air Multiplier fan

6/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



| | |