Yes, just as you would with a paint brush. Natural fiber roller covers made with mohair or a blend of polyester and lamb's wool are usually recommended for oil-based paints, varnishes and stains. Synthetic fiber roller covers, on the other hand, are most often recommended for applying latex paints.
Rollers also work better on trim when using oil paints... the paint dries slower and so has more time to flow. Latex paints tack up quickly, so when you back roll something with a roller, it's already tacky and so the stipple quickly dries before it has a chance to smooth out.
There is not much difference between using a brush and roller on a door. I use a brush because oil based undercoats should be worked into the wood to give the best protection and first layer, a roller doesn't quite achieve this. Going with the grains of the wood is easier with a brush.
To apply oil paint to a wall, start by preparing the surface through cleaning and sanding. Use a high-quality primer, and once it's dry, apply the oil paint in even strokes using a roller or brush. Ensure proper ventilation, and consider thinning the paint for smoother application.
Foam rollers are best for applying oil-based gloss. They don't really hold enough paint for any other type of material.
Paintings should be rolled paint-side out to avoid compression. Cover art with Glassine Paper and roll around a wide, solid core material like PVC pipe or carpet roll tubes. Place the rolled canvas inside a box for transport using bubble wrap for extra protection.
Canvas is an excellent choice for oil painting
Artists have been using canvas for more than 300 years, so it comes highly recommended. The weave of the cloth, combined with the spring of the stretched material, makes it excellent for oil painting. Canvas is often made from linen or cotton.
There are three rules to follow when painting in oils because colours dry at different rates: 'fat over lean', 'slow over fast' and 'thick over thin'.
Typically brushes with stiff enough bristles are used for oil painting. But if you're looking to create a perfectly soft and smooth blend, then use softer brushes. This technique is usually used when painting realistically.
Brush Care
Avoid dipping a dry brush into oil paint. For natural hair brushes, first, dip the brush into painting medium. This distributes the natural oils of the brush hairs and allows each hair to load properly with paint. Different levels of the painting require different types of brush hair.
The advantage of the slow-drying quality of oil paint is that an artist can develop a painting gradually, making changes or corrections if necessary. Oil paints blend well with each other, making subtle variations of colour possible as well as more easily creating details of light and shadow.
Professional painters typically use both brushes and rollers when painting. Brushes are used to apply paint in tight spaces or areas with intricate details, while rollers are used for larger surfaces like walls and ceilings.
Put the paint on with a short (6") sponge roller in small area - 18 inches square. Lightly drag a brush across the paint in a pattern perpendicular to how you rolled the paint on. The paint should level out nicely.
Water-based paints: use synthetic brushes (nylon or polyester) and rollers, as they hold their shape and stiffness. Oil-based paints: natural bristle brushes (such as hog hair) are ideal for oil-based paints and varnishes.
Today, I want to discuss three art materials that I've used and that often find their way into oil painters' studios. While they may have their benefits, these materials should be avoided or used with caution to ensure the longevity and integrity of your artwork. The culprits? Zinc Oxide, Clove Oil, and Solvents.
These can occur when the paint roller isn't fully immersed in the paint or is applied unevenly, leaving a patchy, streaky appearance once the paint has dried. Second, brush marks are another common cause of streaks.
Untreated, or right out of the tube, oil paints usually dry to a semi-gloss that will stay looking “wetter” than most of acrylics will. Thicker paint will be glossier. Mixing a thinner or medium can adjust the finish of an oil painting up to a high gloss or down to a matte finish, but it won't be perfectly even.
An oil finish penetrates the wood fibers and hardens inside the wood so the surface of the wood is still what your fingers feel, and however fine you sand at this point will determine how nice your finish will be. Once finished with 220, I like to go again over the surface with 320 grit and then blow off the dust well.
For paint to dry without cracking and colors to be bright, the golden rule of painting is thick on thin: each succeeding layer should have slightly more oil than the previous one. The first ones should therefore have little oil and the following ones be richer and richer.
Paint From Dark to Light
It is easier to see your object develop if you paint in the darkest colors first, and then move on to the next value, and then the next, and so on. Take a look at the images below and note how you can see the object develop because I painted it in order from darks to lights.
Try using the paint straight from the tube, and use more of it than you think you need. I agree on gessoing the canvas as well. This will help keep the oil from absorbing into the canvas as much, and you'll be able to apply paint more smoothly.
You need to follow the golden rule of oil painting: painting "thick on thin" . Each succeeding layer should be slightly "thicker," that is, contain more oil, than the previous one. To achieve this, highly dilute the first layers, with the following ones less and less diluted.