Spray Painting vs. Roll Painting

Spray Painting vs. Roll Painting: Which Is Better?

Painting is a favorite home improvement project of those on a budget. It’s a wonder how a few cans of colors can transform a room.

Over the years, painting has leveled up in many ways. Painters who were only once armed with brushes now have other options.

Spray painting and roll painting are the top choices among DIY painters. The list below examines some factors that will define which type is better to use for you.

1. Experience

Experience

It’s not advisable to indulge yourself in painting extensive areas or big furniture if it’s your first time using spray paint. Chances are you would have an uneven layer of paint.

Handling spray paint may look easy. But the truth is inexperience with using it can only give you unnecessary expenses, uneven coverage, and drips all over the place.

If you’re determined to use spray paint, you can first have a trial. You may try your hand at some spare moving boxes until you get the hang of using spray paint.

On the other hand, using roller paint can be an uncomplicated venture even for the newbie in the world of painting. The learning curve for using roller paint is way less compared with spray paint.

2. Time

Time

Spray painting has become popular because it requires less time to cover surfaces. You can start painting your bedroom walls in the morning and be assured of better sleep at night because you’re done with the task.

Roll painting demands patience and some serious work for your arm muscle. Depending on the area you need to paint, it can take you days to finish.

But you should also factor in the time for preparation. Your spray paint can easily put smudges of paint on your mattress or carpet if you don’t cover them well enough. 

With both methods, you would want to cover (or mask) areas that you don’t want to get painted. However, you must be more specific in masking when you’re using spray paint.

You should also factor in your rest time when choosing the method of paint to use.

With roll painting, you can cut your session short if you need to do something else (like cook an elaborate meal or fold loads of laundry from the dryer.) You only need to use a cling wrap for your roller and tray.

This is not the case with spray paint. Once you have your job started, you need to finish it to prevent paint from drying and clogging the hose and nozzle.

3. Cost

Cost

Just like anything else, a painting project also needs some careful financial planning. There should be a rough estimate of how many cans you need to complete your task.

With roll painting, every drop goes directly to the surface. With spray paint, you must be ready to spend a bigger amount (two to three times of paint used in roll painting) because some end up as overspray.

4. Area Where You Will Apply Paint 

Area Where You Will Apply Paint

You can use spray paint to your advantage when painting an area outside your home. Fences or mailboxes are easy DIY painting projects using spray paint.

However, make sure that you don’t have extensive landscaping where you will apply spray paint. You wouldn’t want to end up with paint overspray on the beautiful features of your yard.

Spray paint is also a top choice when you’re room is empty. This could happen when you’re just moving in or in the initial stage of a total renovation project.

Lastly, spray paint could be your best pal when painting detailed textures such as crown moldings or masonry. With roller paints, it would be such a pain to work on these small and narrow designs and achieve an excellent result at the same time.


There is no single winner between the use of spray paint and paint rollers. It still boils down to what you consider based on the factors above.

Have you recently experienced using a paint roller or spray paint? We would love to hear about your stories.

Aside from painting, you can also try some projects to update the look of your home. You may look at these articles for some fresh ideas: