Paint Roller Cleaner

The worst part of painting is the cleanup. If you do not know the best trick to clean your paint roller, it could take half an hour to have clean water running through. The best way to clean a paint roller, I have found, is to use a specialty tool, called a 5 in 1, to remove excess paint and then to spray the roller with a garden hose, creating a centripetal force that removes the paint while new water is being added. This method cleans a paint roller in just a few minuets. This also leaves the roller spin-dried and in perfect condition for another use. The Paint Roller Cleaner is a 3D printed tool designed to do this while keeping you dry and the mess inside of a 5 Gallon bucket.

• 3D Printer and Filament (I used PVA)
• 3D Print Files (one for for the main body and one for the attachment to a hose)
• CA Super Glue (I used JBWeld Super Weld)
• Clamp (per using super glue instructions)
• 5 Gallon Bucket
• Garden Hose
• Garden Hose Shutoff Valve (so water can be turned)
• Garden Hose Rubber Washer

The main part of the tool is oriented as seen when printed. There are no overhangs over 45 degrees so it does not have any supports and should be an easy print.

The hose attachment is oriented as seen when printed. Again there are no overhangs over 45 degrees and so no supports are needed. Here you can see the top has four post that will seat into the main body when glued.

Glue the hose attachment to the main body following the glue's instructions. For PLA, I found that using cyanoacrylate, superglue, works best. As a warning, polyurethane glues, such as Gorilla Glue, do not work with PVA at all.

Insert the rubber hose washer and attach the Paint Roller Cleaner to the hose shut off valve.

It only takes a bit of practice to feel out the sweet spot to make the roller spin best. It is important to start from top to bottom so the part of the roller that is moving outside of the bucket is clean and dry.

In most cases you will need to run the roller through twice. After you empty the first bucket, you can cleanly remove the roller pad from the roller cage and clean any paint that was trapped on the inside. Then you can use the Paint Roller Cleaner to give the roller one final spray leaving the roller as good as new in only a few minutes.