A narrow knit-roller kit was one of my small painting-tool purchases.
The featured Amazon option is FoamPRO 68 Four-Inch Foam Roller.
Where it fits my build
I taped the boundaries and covered the areas that would not be painted with plastic sheeting. I then sanded the exposed areas with an orbital sander and 60-grit abrasive, blew away the dust with a compressor, and cleaned and degreased the surfaces.
I mixed clear bedliner with white tint and sprayed the van. After it dried, I removed the masking. The tape and sheeting stage alone took around eight hours, and the finished edges still needed some touch-up.
My van with masking around the exterior areas prepared for coating.The side of the van during the white-bedliner project.
My build notes
The most useful detail in my diary is the result, including the problems. Rust-Oleum pooled and dripped in places, and trying to repair one area with a paintbrush made it worse. I wrote that I would use a foam roller for touch-ups and preferred the more consistent finish I had obtained with RAPTOR.
Masking, preparation and application method each became a substantial part of the exterior-coating job.
Alternative products
Two alternatives to compare
The featured FoamPRO applicator is a four-inch foam roller. XDT offers a small foam-roller kit, while the FoamPRO corner roller changes the applicator shape for working into an inside corner.
XDT Small Foam Paint Rollers
This set contains small foam rollers in several widths. Their compact heads provide a rolling application format for narrow areas and small surfaces.
