After a couple of decades on the tools, I can safely say prep is where most decorating jobs are won or lost. It is also the bit clients never see and never want to pay for, which is why anything that genuinely speeds it up – without wrecking the finish – gets my attention.
Dalapro Roll Nova is one of those products that has been doing the rounds in decorator circles for a while: ready-mixed, goes on by roller, designed to level out rough surfaces without going down the full plastering route. I’ve now used it on a mix of real jobs – battered ceilings, torn walls after paper stripping, even over painted brick – and this is my honest verdict.
What It Is and Where It Fits
Dalapro Roll Nova is a ready-mixed, roller-applied filler/skim product. Think of it as a bridge between traditional filling and a full skim:
- Thicker and more forgiving than a standard filler.
- Nowhere near as hard or involved as plaster.
- Designed to be rolled on, then laid off with a wide blade or skimming blade.
I reach for it when:
- Walls or ceilings are too rough for “fill and sand”,
- But not bad enough (or not big enough) to justify bringing in a plasterer.
First Job: Rough Ceiling After Polystyrene Tiles
My first real test was a lounge ceiling where I’d stripped off ancient polystyrene tiles. Underneath was exactly what you would expect: torn, rough, and full of imperfections.
Process:
- Sanded the whole ceiling to knock off nibs and adhesive.
- Rolled Dalapro Roll Nova on with a medium-pile roller.
- Laid it off with a wide filling knife.
What struck me straight away was how easily it levelled out. Once it had dried, I was surprised how little sanding it needed. No obvious roller lines, no crazy shrinkage, just a consistently flat surface ready for a quick sand and paint.
On that ceiling I would normally expect a good bit of re-filling and spot-sanding. With this, it was one hit, light sand, paint, job done.
Small Textured Ceilings and “Problem Patches”
Next up was a small ceiling with a horrible, patchy texture – not full Artex, but the sort of inconsistent mess that shows through every coat of emulsion.
I rolled it on, worked it with a 10–12″ blade, and it behaved exactly how you’d hope:
- Plenty of open time to trowel it about.
- No dragging or tearing.
- No sagging, even where I had to fill a bit deeper.
By the time it dried and I sanded it back, it looked like a completely different ceiling. For that kind of small, awkward area, this product is ideal – the sort of job where you’d never get a plasterer in, but ordinary filler would be a pain.
Speed and Workflow – Where It Really Shines
The main selling point for me is speed. Because it is ready-mixed and goes on with a roller, the whole process is very efficient:
- Dust-sheet, tape, and protect as normal.
- Roll on like a thick emulsion.
- Lay off with a wide knife or skimming blade.
- Leave to dry, then sand.
On one bathroom wall test, I rolled it on, laid it off, left it overnight, and only had a couple of small shrinkage spots to touch up the next day. After a quick sand, it was straight into paint.
Not having to mix bags, clean out buckets and whisk, or worry about setting times makes a big difference on busy days. I can genuinely say a tub of this in the van has saved me hours across multiple jobs.
Confidence for Non-Plasterers
I am not, and never will be, a spread. I can patch and make good, but I would not call myself a plasterer. Dalapro Roll Nova does a good job of masking that.
If you are comfortable with a roller and a wide blade, you can get a very respectable finish first time. It is much more forgiving than plaster:
- Longer working time.
- Easier to correct mistakes.
- Sands back without a fight.
For decorators who hate going near plaster and DIYers who are competent but not trades, it gives you a realistic way to turn a rough wall or ceiling into a paintable surface without calling someone else in.
How It Handles Different Substrates
I have pushed it a bit to see where it gives up.
Over Painted Brick
I tried it over painted brickwork as a test of its limits. Rolled on, then worked across the high spots with a wide blade. It did:
- Adhere well.
- Flatten the surface better than I expected.
- Sand back more nicely than other ready-mixed products I have tried (Smartmix, Knauf, etc.).
You still know it is not a true skimmed wall – the substrate dictates that – but in terms of smoothing out the worst of it, it did a better job than most.
Over Heavy Texture and Deep Imperfections
On walls and ceilings with heavy texture or deeper damage:
- It doesn’t slump noticeably in deeper spots if you do not go mad with the thickness.
- The “playtime” is generous, so you can keep working it until you are happy.
- Once dry, a quick run over with a Mirka (or similar) is usually all it needs.
Used with a decent skimming blade or wide filling knife, it is perfectly capable of turning an ugly surface into something you would happily put a good finish coat on.
Drying Time and Sanding
In normal conditions, I find it dries in roughly 8–12 hours, depending on:
- How thick you have laid it on.
- Ventilation and temperature.
Thicker patches may need overnight, but I have not had anything stay soft into a second day on typical internal work.
The sanding is one of the main positives:
- It sands easily without clogging the paper too badly.
- You are not fighting rock-hard plaster.
- It is realistic to get a near-perfect finish with a single sand after one application.
On an Artexed ceiling I repaired, the thicker patches had cured fully by the following day and powdered up nicely under the sander.
Cost and Value for Money
This is where the debate usually starts. At around £30 a tub, it is not the cheapest thing you can put on a wall.
However, if you look at it in context:
- For a heavily damaged wall, I have comfortably done a full make-good using about three-quarters of a tub.
- That is still cheaper – and far quicker – than organising a plasterer for a small job.
- You also keep control of the schedule, which matters when you are juggling multiple rooms and clients.
On balance, once you factor in labour time saved, fewer return visits, and no need to sub out awkward little jobs, it represents good value.
Rollers and Accessories – The Slight Annoyance
One of the few issues I have is the roller situation. Dalapro recommend their own rollers and sleeves which are, frankly, not cheap. The branded sleeves are not always compatible with the roller frames most decorators already own, either.
The good news is:
- A standard medium or long-pile roller works perfectly well.
- You might have to experiment a little to find the nap that suits your style, but there is no need to invest heavily in manufacturer-branded gear.
Once dialled in, application is consistent and fuss-free.
Does It Replace Plastering?
Short answer: no.
I see Dalapro Roll Nova as:
- A very good addition to a decorator’s toolkit.
- Not a replacement for proper plastering on large or high-wear areas.
Plaster still wins for:
- Long-term durability in high-traffic or high-abuse environments.
- Full-room re-skims where you want a single, hard, uniform surface.
Where Dalapro Roll Nova wins is on:
- Small to medium jobs where calling a plasterer is impractical or uneconomical.
- Make-good work after wallpaper stripping.
- Rough ceilings and walls that need smoothing but not a full reskim.
It may well take a few “easy money” patch jobs away from plasterers, but it is not about to replace them.
Verdict – Is Dalapro Roll Nova Worth Using?
From a working decorator’s point of view, yes, it is.
Strengths:
- Genuinely time-saving on awkward surfaces.
- Easy to apply with a roller and blade, even if you are not a plasterer.
- Versatile across ceilings, walls, textured surfaces, and even painted brick.
- Sands very well and delivers a high-quality paint-ready finish.
Weaknesses:
- Product and recommended rollers are not cheap.
- Not a substitute for a full, hard plaster skim on big, high-wear jobs.
- Availability of the “ideal” accessories can be hit and miss.
Despite that, I now treat it as a staple. If I know a job involves rough ceilings, torn walls after stripping, or any of those “too big to patch, too small to skim” situations, a tub goes in the van.
Used properly, Dalapro Roll Nova turns what used to be miserable prep days into straightforward, predictable work – and the finish is good enough that clients just see clean, flat walls and ceilings, which is exactly how it should be.