Hildering Roll ‘n’ Go paint kettles – Go!Paint
Christmas came around again for several Traditional painters – a delivery of 3 Hildering Roll ‘n’ Go paint kettles for mini rollers. Time to check the product from talented Dutch painting kit designers.
Updated at end of article with insights from the designer on the thinking behind the Go!Paint Roll ‘n’ Go
Pelican, Roll ‘n’ Go, Speed Bucket, mini roller tray
There is quite some competition out there for this type of kit, so will a couple of innovative twists on a theme be enough to make the Roll ‘n’ Go the go-to piece of kit for kitchen painters / general painters looking for a convenient way to brush and roll?
A mini roller tray or 7″ roller tray is quite handy for rolling paint on kitchen cabinet doors. You can rig up clip-on magnetic brush holders, which greatly improve the painting experience, but once you move onto general decorating, the conventional tray is of no use for working up and down a ladder, cutting in and rolling tight to ceiling lines.
Wooster Pelican and Speed Bucket: I think it is fair to say that US based Wooster have developed a thorough system for rolling and brushing on the move, combining robust construction, ergonomic rolling, magnetic brush holder… when working from a bench, these buckets are not quite as ergonomic for loading a roller as a tray. So can the Dutch improve on, or offer something different to the Wooster Pelican and the larger Wooster Speed Bucket?
Looking through the camera lens, I think these are some of the important aspects to consider when comparing the above. (These are views straight off the bat, and more TP specialists will report on how they got on after extended use.)
Mind the gap!
I don’t like to juggle a brush in one hand, and a roller in the other, and neither do I like to have to think too hard about loading a mini roller. I just want to dunk and load the roller without any fuss. How much working space is there inside?
How comfortable is it to use?
Following on from ease of dunking in the roller sleeve, how comfortable is the kettle to use and hold while loading the roller? As you can see, the Roll n Go and Pelican take a diametrically opposing approach to handles and roll off area.
I only stop to reload
The capacity of a kettle or tray is a big consideration, how often do you need to stop to add more paint? Can you use them, loaded to full capacity? From least to most capacity…
Can you use any brush?
The Wooster range is designed for American painters, Hildering work with Dutch painters. UK painters have a wide range of brushes at our disposal – UK brushes tend to have a rounded handle near the stock, continental brushes have a round “artist brush” style handle, US brushes tend to have rectangular or wide oval handles. Do handle shapes limit which roller kettle you can use?
Special features
The Wooster kettles use a magnet to secure the brush to the sides. Difficult to photograph a magnet hidden behind plastic, but it is there. The construction is also rock solid and stable on the ground. With replaceable liners, the Pelican is a long term purchase.
The Roll n Go has a unique feature in that you can easily store the used roller overnight, in a very tidy fashion.
These are some of the criteria that I would be thinking about during prolonged use. We shall see how it plays out in practice in the hands of several TP specialists working on an assortment of projects around the UK.
My gut feeling is that the Roll n Go would tick a couple more boxes if it were bigger built, but the Dutch painters know a few things we don’t, so I will reserve judgement. (UK painters are getting used to adapting their style these days to embrace new products and ideas from overseas painters, so we shall see how we get on with a Dutch philosophy.)
For sure, some interesting ideas will emerge. Putting a lid on a Pelican is probably easier said than done, as is installing a magnet in the Roll n Go…
The designer of the Roll ‘n’ Go says:
Here is some food for thought from Jop Timmers, the designer at Hildering, about the application of this piece of kit.
Please allow me to fill in some smart Dutch boxes 😉 that could also be ticked with Roll and Go:
1. when you would use a cylindrical brush (standard in Holland) you could place that easily in the handle (no need for magnets – if you still need a magnet there is a product on the market that could be used with Roll and Go)
2. especially for (high-end) lacquers it is a good thing that Roll and Go is not so big: you lose less paint/lacquer
3. the combination of a low total weight with a good, ergonomic handle make it easy to use this product when moving around (painting a door from top to bottom, working inside cupboards, painting ships (inside and outside), painting street furniture and lanterns, working on a ladder etcetera) This is why the product is liked so much by specialized painters
4. you can hang the product with the handle over the rung of a ladder, a door or over the heating radiator
5. the price! (of course, we are Dutch…)
So it is worth bearing these thoughts in mind when you are working on a project that requires a small amount of paint, or you are stuck for space or up a ladder. How is it for you? Updates from Traditional Painters.
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6 comments to “Hildering Roll ‘n’ Go paint kettles – Go!Paint”
Interesting products, I look forward to hearing more once you’re ‘road’ tested them. I have a pelican, and find it a little small, I didn’t know about the Speed Bucket! I like the idea of plenty of wiggle room for a 4″ roller and 2.5″ brush. Thanks for posting.
I think there is a lot to cram into the design of the perfect roller and brush pail, also I think the handle is a key element to any roller kettle, so we shall see what works in different scenarios. The Speed bucket and mini roller is a good choice for painting out small bathrooms or wandering through a building touching up. Because of the size of the bucket, the conventional swing handle isn’t as inconvenient as most, but still, if you want to half the useful dipping area of any paint receptacle, slow yourself down and risk getting painted up hands, use a swing handle!
Depends how you use the swing handle – sometimes I hold the bottom of the pail with my thumb looped in the handle – but it’s uncomfortable for long periods of time, although it allows full access to the top of the pail and helps speed up dipping and knocking off.
As you say Charlie, short term it is fine, but over time it is uncomfortable doing it that way, especially with some paint in, it weighs a bit and wears your joints. I can’t hitch hike any more, you know!
I’m thinking of patenting a kind of pod thing for paint, with a tube that feeds paint to brushes and rollers, what do you think? 😉
the budd pod – has a certain ring to it. Will it work though? Used a predecessor to the Dulux toy and it was great, as long as the paint was diluted like water. If you have an airless pod you might be on to something!!