Paint Runner - Pile of ****e

Mick Shrimpton

I searched a fair bit for details of this product before I finally took the plunge and bought one from Selkin on Ebay. After seeing the long infomercial and the round-the-clock adverts on all the major stations,I decided I'd give it a blast.

From what I could tell from all the bad reports I found on the net, this wasn't going to be a product that waqs going to last years,but I have just one project to do which involves painting a smallish house to be sold. THe whole place is going to take two colours-white on the ceilings/magnolia on the walls.

After receiving the box and checking it out for the first time, it was painfully evident that this thing is very cheaply made, and something clicked straight away that I'd been had. But c'mon, according to the ad, I'm joining a half a million satisfied customers...surely there was some functionality to the product that I was about to discover similar to the "stress-free painting" experience that both the TV ads and the Ebay ad testified to.

I have to wonder how many people return/throw away this thing and how long they wait trying to convince themselves that it could/will work like it is supposed to before the vein on their forehead pops and they admit defeat like some old woman who has bought a "miracle back massager" from DelBoy.

Just a few of the issues that I wish I'dknown before buying this thing include

-Paint thinning is required for the roller to function, and while the recommended ratio is 4:1, the incredibly uneven/thin coat that this leaves means you're guaranteed to have to do at least an extra 2 coats than usual... not very "time-saving" as they claim

-The roller is supplied with a 3 piece alluminium extension handle. This cheap corner-cutting pile of crap buckled after about 10 mins. You see, the roller is very heavy when it's full, which after a very short time is extremely tiring, and this flimsy little pole is supposed to support it...From the moment I put the roller on it, it felt so unsteady that you almost knew what was inevitably going to happen. But that made it no less infuriating when it did.

-The edger/cutting in tool simply does not work. Paint just does not flow through it. End of story. We tried different consistencies and the only onethat worked was basically water.

-This idea of time saving with the amount of preperation to get the paint consistency right, the amount of extra coats, and get this...the amount of water you have to put through the thing to get it clean actually became funny after about 25 mins. Thank god we dont pay water charges. And the thing wasn't even properly clean!! Pile of garbage.

We read and followed the instructions to the letter, and when that didnt work we tried some things to at least get something out of it.

We have requested a return/refund, it's been 4 days and no reply, but never say never. Is this what "Not fit for purpose" entails?

If I had read/known about the things I have written here, I would never have gone near it. Hopefully this will help somebody to steer clear of this marketing-laden pile of crap. I never normally fall for them...:mad::mad::mad:

themadchef

So glad you posted this.

Have watched the advertisements and thought "God that looks like a great little invention". Was seriously thinking of buying one for Dad, he's getting on a bit and still insists on doing everything himself.

Obviously won't buy it now.

Run_to_da_hills

Are you sure yours isn't a counterfeit product?

Someone else on Boards thinks the world of it.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055127657

sassa

thanks for that was gonna get one of those we're doing a bit of decorating at the moment.

Crash

If you're willing to spend a bit more money, and the colours suit you, the Dulux paintpod would be the only one of these yokes I'd back up. Cuts down on paint time by at least half.

brendansmith

TBH i knew it would be a ball for sh!te from the momenty i saw the ad.

Its just not possible to do what they claim, paint will not flow through a sponge. Any body who is familiar with paint and a sponge can figure that one out.

Sorry for your no doubt infuriating ordeal OP. We have all been there at some stage.

Cabaal

I actually can't believe somebody bought one of these, it'll never do a decent job of painting and thats clear from the advert if you look closely at what he's painting.

While it may not the the case are you sure its the real thing given you bought it off ebay, I know often things can look 99% like the real thing but they are a certain % of knockoffs on ebay, razor blades is a very good example

spadder

There are professional powered painting rollers which work a treat, well worth the investment if your in the trade.

Suzyq

Thanks for letting me know,

was considering buying one of those!

Oryx

I saw the ad, and thought then it was stupid idea. By the time you go thinning, filling and afterwards cleaning up, youd have the room done with a normal roller (which is so cheap you can sling it in the bin) and be sitting with your tea. Glad to hear its a dud, and hopefully others will be warned.

tony1kenobi

Will someone let Paramount know so I can enjoy King Of Queens uninterrupted?

Sorr to hear about your problem, OP, but that was a very funny post.

mikemike

I know how you feel Colin .. I bought the exact same one as you from selkin off ebay ... and it broke my heart last night !!

I intended using it to paint the ceilings and walls with the additive Thermilate to try and make the house warmer in the winter .. it may/may not work but if I don't try I'll never know .. and then put a couple of coats of normal paint over it ...

there's a few rooms to do and a very long corridor , and I'm not really a bit fan of painting so I thought if it cuts down on time and effort , I'd give it a try .

I mixed the thermilate and the paint no problem , poured it into the paintrunner thing and rolled on the walls for about 7 minutes to get it 'flowing' , but no paint coming through unless I put real serious pressure on it ..

Ok I thought , I'll water it down and see if that hepls , ,,, it didn't ,, watererd it down about 3-4 times in total by which stage I was f*cking furious :mad: :mad: ,, I'd spent about an hour and a half pissing about and still no paint on the f*cking ceiling yet ....

I eventually gave up and got out the old fashioned roller and tray and finished two coats by 11.30pm last night ,, exhausted and had a beer :P , and then another , and another .

as someone mentioned , there is a post on here for 'paintrunner' and the guy seems very happy with it ....

The selkin one may be a cheap crappy copy and thus give s*ite results ..

with the selkin one , the paint would basically have to be like WATER to work and then it would take maybe 3/4 coats instead of two . what's the point ??

if you have any luck getting your money back Colin , let me know , I'm trying the same thing myself ..

tm2204

Bought one of these in Heatons, tried it, rubbish, cleaned it, returned it to heatons, got my cash back :D:D

Avoid it's a bag of bollox............

sbsquarepants

I think the lesson to be learned is, if it's on an infomercial or has jml written anywhere on the box, it's a pile of A grade Shi*e! I see the add every day and just can't belive half a million people have been conned like that. Your statutary rights say you are entitled to a refund if any product is not fit for purpose, but paddy power will give you 1 million to 1 against ever seeing that money again.

Messed Up Mind

Me and my sister had a competition when we were painting our sitting room last year - she was using the paint runner (genuine one bought in a shop) while I used an ordinary roller. The paint from the paint runner came out in blotches even with the paint thinned out to the ratio that's stated on the instructions, she could hardly lift the bloody thing. While I had finished half of the room in about an hour and a half, she had only done about a 1 metre wide area of the room. It's an absolute pile of poo. It's up in our shed just sitting there never to be used again. I always laugh when I see the ads on TV claiming how easy it is to use and how there are over half a million satisfied customers.

John Mason

it this the thing you pour the paint into and looks like a roller?

if so, i thought it was brilliant. i painted by whole house and my mother house with it.

just pour the paint in and roll on the walls. no mess or spillages.

brilliant

Wertz

Snake oil of the highest order IMO.
Go out and spend a tenner on a good rolling frame and another 5 on a decent sleeve. If you're going to go to the trouble of painting then this way offers the best results, barring professional pressure-feed systems
If these worked or had any advantage, every painter in Ireland would have one. I lol every time that ad comes on...

irishthump

Wertz wrote: »

Snake oil of the highest order IMO.
If these worked or had any advantage, every painter in Ireland would have one. I lol every time that ad comes on...

You've summed it up there.
My wife bought a previous incarnation of this thing a few years back and guess what? The technology did'nt work back then either!

miju

bought one of these in Dunnes Stores (ebay has more and more counterfit stuff these days) and have used it quite a few times and am fairly satisfied with it. So alls I'm gonna do is offer some points:

Colinthedrummer wrote: »

Paint thinning is required for the roller to function, and while the recommended ratio is 4:1, the incredibly uneven/thin coat that this leaves means you're guaranteed to have to do at least an extra 2 coats than usual... not very "time-saving" as they claim

I didnt have to thin paint at all. Once I loaded it up with paint it took about 5 minutes for paint to fully seep through but once that was done I was away in a hack

Colinthedrummer wrote: »

The roller is supplied with a 3 piece alluminium extension handle. This cheap corner-cutting pile of crap buckled after about 10 mins. You see, the roller is very heavy when it's full, which after a very short time is extremely tiring, and this flimsy little pole is supposed to support it...From the moment I put the roller on it, it felt so unsteady that you almost knew what was inevitably going to happen. But that made it no less infuriating when it did.

maybe you were applying to much pressure as I was able to use this product for 8 hours straight while painting and re-painting a few rooms in the house with it full of paint without it even remotely buckling and the pole is fine still.

Colinthedrummer wrote: »

-The edger/cutting in tool simply does not work. Paint just does not flow through it. End of story. We tried different consistencies and the only onethat worked was basically water.

will agree that this is a pile of crap but more so cos a brush is handier for edging than anything else.

Colinthedrummer wrote: »

-This idea of time saving with the amount of preperation to get the paint consistency right, the amount of extra coats, and get this...the amount of water you have to put through the thing to get it clean actually became funny after about 25 mins. Thank god we dont pay water charges. And the thing wasn't even properly clean!! Pile of garbage.

Has someone who cant paint for ****e I found this thing a god send. 6 rooms , 2 coats in each room and 8 hours without a problem