The Best Roller for Painting Cabinets and Furniture in 2024

Looking for the best paint roller for a smooth finish on cabinets and furniture? You’ve come to the right place!

I’ve compared the five most common types of paint rollers to find the BEST paint roller that gives the closest finish to a paint sprayer. Plus, I’ve compiled my top tips for getting the smoothest finish on furniture and cabinets once you’ve selected the best type of roller!

I’m on a mission to compare paints and products side by side to hopefully help readers select the best products for their specific projects. My comparisons are not sponsored, are bias-free and as “scientific” as possible. Be sure to follow along if you want honest comparisons and reviews for furniture and cabinet painting.

First things first, we need to address the lingering question everyone is wondering:

Can I get a smooth finish without a paint sprayer?

Yes, it’s entirely possible to get a smooth finish by using a roller and brush. However, there are certain products and steps you need to follow to achieve the smoothest finish.

It’s important to note that using a paint sprayer will give the smoothest result. With that being said, the difference between a well-painted/rolled cabinet door or piece of furniture compared to a sprayed one is honestly very minimal. Most people won’t even be able to notice a difference. (I’ll show you this side by side comparison later in the post.)

Plus, using a paint sprayer does take some practice. You can also completely butcher a paint job when using a paint sprayer too!

So, how do you get that super smooth finish on cabinets and furniture without a sprayer? You’ll need to use all of these tips to get the job done well:

1. Select the best paint roller for a smooth finish
2. Choose the right kind of paint
3. Switch between using a brush and roller in the right order
4. Lightly sand between coats

The Best Roller for a Smooth Finish

There are a few different rollers that most commonly get the designation of the “best roller for a smooth finish”. I used all of them on cabinet doors and also compared them to a brushed finish and a sprayed finish.

• high density foam roller (jump to review)
• flocked foam roller (jump to review)
• velour roller (jump to review)
• mohair roller (jump to review)
• 1/4″ woven nap roller (jump to review)

Before we dive into the results from my side by side test, I want to give a bit of background on the products I used on this experiment.

Brand of Paint Roller

For this test, I used the same brand (Wooster) for all of these mini rollers. To be honest, the brand here doesn’t matter as much as the type of roller. I’ve also used Purdy and Whizz rollers and found the same results when using the same type of roller across brands.

Although I just said the brand doesn’t matter, remember that all of the brands I mentioned are great painting product brands. I would personally avoid using generic brands as you may see a difference in product quality.

I made sure to prep all the rollers before using them in the test. These steps help to remove any roller cover fibers that are always present on new rollers.

Paint Roller Sizes for Cabinets and Furniture

The best size of roller for painting cabinets and furniture is a small, 4-inch roller. This smaller size is perfect for rolling cabinet frames, stiles and faces. It also is large enough to easily roll the top or side of a dresser or other piece of furniture.

Additionally, some of the types of rollers I’ve tested in this post aren’t even available in the larger 9″ standard paint roller size. In short, use a 9-inch roller for painting walls and a 4-inch roller for cabinets and furniture.

Type of Roller Frames

There are three main types of roller frames that fit 4″ rollers – cage frames, mini cage frames, and wire frames.

• 4″ Cage Roller (left): These roller covers have the same size hole as a standard paint roller, but they are shorter in size. These roller frames glide nicely, however it’s harder to find the different variety of roller covers that fit this larger cage.
• 4″ Wire Frame (center): These frames have a smaller metal stick where the roller attaches. They usually glide nicely, but sometimes they can get stuck or skip a little when rolling. You can find all the varieties of rollers I mentioned in this post for this type of frame.
• 4″ Mini Cage Frame (right): These frames are a newer type of roller. They have a smaller cage than a standard roller. They roll very smoothly across the surface and have all the varieties of rollers I describe in this post.

After using wire frames for many years (and liking them), I recently switched to mini cage frames and they are amazing! They are slightly more expensive than wire frames, but well worth the extra couple of bucks when trying to achieve the best finish.

Recommendation: Spend a couple of extra bucks and purchase a mini-cage roller frame to have on hand for your next project!

Review of the Five Best Paint Rollers for a Smooth Finish

Let’s take a close look at how each of the paint rollers performed on these cabinet doors. For comparison purposes, here’s a look at the section of the cabinet that was sprayed.

High-Density Foam Roller

These rollers are made of foam as opposed to fibers. Therefore, they don’t have a nap which helps to create a smooth finish.

The Results: In my test, the foam roller cover did not shed at all and painted quite smoothly, with only slight stippling once the paint dried.

Foam rollers can leave roller marks between passes, but only if you’re using a paint that doesn’t level well. The paint I’ve listed in this post in the section below (Choosing the Right Paint for a Smooth Finish) will level smoothly and the roller marks will dry flat and will not visible.

Flocked Foam Roller

Flocked foam rollers are similar to high density foam rollers, but are softer with hair-like pieces on the outside of the roller.

The Results: This roller is large! It got stuck in my paint tray that’s made for 4-inch rollers quite often during this test.

It also holds A LOT of paint. I always recommend light coats for the smoothest finish, and it’s pretty impossible to do this with this roller because it holds SO MUCH PAINT. If you want to cut corners and apply as few coats as possible, you might like this roller!

Unfortunately, this flocked foam roller left a ton of tiny hairs in the paint, even after I conditioned it AND used it multiple times prior to this test. Any of the other rollers that shed on the first use stopped doing so by the time I used them on this final test, but this roller continued to shed, a lot, every time.

Velour Roller

Velour rollers have a short nap (usually 1/4″) and therefore do not hold a lot of paint, which creates thinner coats.

The Results: The velour roller shed a lot on the first use, even after properly prepping the roller. If you choose to use a velour roller, be sure to paint on a separate surface first to remove all the hairs in the roller.

The finish wasn’t super smooth, it had larger stippling throughout when looking up close at the doors.

I wanted to like this roller, as I’ve had readers and paint store employees recommend it as a great roller for a smooth finish. If I had used it in isolation (and stopped the shedding after the first use), I probably would have like it. But put side by side with other rollers, it just didn’t perform as well.

Mohair Roller

Most mohair rollers on the market are a blend of mohair (natural fiber) and polyester (synthetic fiber). Mohair is known for being an absorbent and smooth fiber.

The Results: This roller gave the smoothest finish out of all the rollers I tested! It holds the perfect amount of paint as well.

Be warned, you must be sure to properly prep this roller before using it because it does shed, especially on the first use. Once you’ve made sure none of the fibers are coming off into the paint, it’ll be good to give a super smooth finish.

One more interesting note about this roller is that it can sometimes pull to the side when it rolls. It didn’t happen every time, but it happened often enough to take note. This doesn’t really affect the finish of the paint in anyway, it was just weird!

1/4″ Nap Roller

This is a standard polyester woven roller with a very short (1/4″) nap.

The Results: I’ve always been advised to stay away from polyester woven rollers for cabinets and furniture, but this roller performed surprisingly well!

It gave a very smooth finish (smoother than the foam roller, but not as smooth as the mohair) with some minimal shedding at the beginning.

Final Results – Which roller is the best for cabinets and furniture?

After comparing all of these rollers side by side, the best rollers for the smoothest finish were the high density foam roller and the 1/4″ nap mohair blend roller.

The 1/4″ woven roller earned the third place spot due to the fact that it doesn’t feel like it’s going to last as long as the mohair roller since the fibers seem to be fraying out a bit.

The velour roller takes the 4th spot and the flocked foam roller earns last place due to the constant shedding.

Choose the Right Paint For a Smooth Finish

The best type of paint that gives the smoothest finish will be a paint that levels well as it dries. Basically, this means that the paint smooths down as it dries and therefore does not show brush strokes or roller marks.

Best Cabinet Paint for a Smooth Finish

Just like I tested rollers in a side by side comparison, I’ve also done the same for cabinet paint. In this post I dive into the nitty-gritty details on how to pick the best cabinet paint.

In short, my favorite type of paint for cabinets is alkyd enamel paint. It dries to a durable finish that’s similar to oil-based paint, but it applies (and cleans up) with water with low VOCs.

All major paint manufacturers make a version of this water-based paint, so you’ll find them available at all home improvement stores at different price points. The post linked above gives all of the details on cost as well.

My all-time favorite paint for cabinets is Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Enamel, but there are a few budget-friendly brands that I also use because they paint beautifully as well. You can find all those details in the post linked above!

Best Furniture Paint for a Smooth Finish

My favorite type of paint for furniture for a smooth finish (in addition to alkyd enamel paint) is high-quality acrylic all-in-one paint.

My favorite brands of this type of paint are General Finishes Milk Paint and Fusion Mineral Paint. I have a full post comparing ALL the kinds of paint to determine the best furniture paint for your next project.

Order of Painting with a Brush and Roller

When painting cabinets and furniture, there are times when you’ll need to use a paint brush to get into tighter spaces and detailed areas that a roller can’t reach.

For the smoothest finish, brush in the areas that need to be brushed. Then follow immediately to roll the flat areas nearby. Rolling right away ensures that the brushed areas are still wet when you pass them with the roller which creates a smooth look.

When painting cabinet doors, it’s important to brush in the corners where the stiles meet the face first. Then immediately use your roller to roll over the face, stiles, and edges of the cabinet door.

I’ve described the complete steps with a video tutorial on how to paint cabinet doors in a full post.

Lightly Sand Between Coats

Sanding between coats helps to smooth out any imperfections in the first coat and create the smoothest finish after all coats have been applied.

To sand between coats, use 320 or 400 grit sandpaper and sand in the direction of the wood grain. You can use a sanding block or a sheet of sandpaper wrapped around a piece of wood.

If you piece of sandpaper gets clogged up with paint, be sure to move to a clean section of sandpaper.

Use a tack cloth to wipe off any sanding dust before painting your next coat.

Final Results

In addition to the test I shared above using Sherwin Williams Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel, I also tested these rollers using Benjamin Moore Advance Alkyd Enamel and General Finishes Milk Paint. Both of these paints are also known for leveling well with a smooth finish.

The results were consistent with my initial test and the top rollers performed equally well on these brands of paint as well!

The overall best rollers for cabinets and furniture are foam rollers and mohair rollers.

Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know if you have experience with other rollers or different experiences with these rollers!