It could vary depending on the paint but for the most part the adhesion wouldn't matter either way.

 

Paint, viscosity, method of application, substrate, and the skill of the painter will always prevail.
I consider myself a "Brush-a-Holic" - but, have used several methods of application. Depends on the project at hand.

 

If skill of the painter prevails, I’m in trouble!

 

For walls, I have rolled paint for years. Only use a brush for corners along trim and trim.

 

Proper preparation will trump application system almost every time. Clean well prepared surface free of contaminants, appropriate quality primer for bonding and correct top coat for the primer will almost always result in a well bonded surface.

 

What kind of paint, what kind of sprayer, and what kind of surface? That's a "how long is a piece of rope?" sort of question. On rough exterior surfaces, the proper way to apply latex paint or elastomeric coating is to spray it on, very thick, with an airless sprayer and then roll over it "back-rolling" as the pros call it. Thinner interior latex goes on very well with an airless, too, often with less spatter than using a roller. Exterior oil stains are better rolled on, because it's hard to get even coverage with a sprayer. Many lacquers cannot be applied with a roller or a brush because they dry too fast and it's nearly impossible to avoid brush marks. Shellac can be brushed, although it takes care to avoid brush marks.

 

If it's plain jane latex and you are putting it on a wall a roller is fine. If it's a self leveling enamel then you can roll it on and then back brush it. It will level much better. If the paint is designed to be sprayed then make sure you prep the surface well. Sandpaper scratch is what is going to hold the paint on best. It's called toothing the surface.

The hardest part is getting it out of the can and on the surface. Paints that are designed to be brushed on can be sprayed and back brushed. It's just getting out of the can faster.

 

Leo G brings up a good point about prepping the surface. I sprayed latex in an interior of a house we had, before move-in or flooring, so overspray wasn't a big problem, but a few weeks after we'd moved in I discovered that the original builder had used gloss oil-base paint on the doors and trim, and the last owner had just painted over that with latex without de-glossing what was already there. With a new coat of latex over it, the previous coat of latex peeled off like wallpaper. No, actually I've never had wallpaper strip off that easy. I pulled on a loose corner of one door and got nearly the entire thing to come off in one piece. I eventually just gave up and replaced all the flat-panel doors with 6-panel doors and replaced all the baseboard and door trim.

 

In my limited commercial construction experience the interior walls were sprayed, then back-rolled.

 

Oil base primer and paint on never been painted before bare wood.

Devilbiss Gravity feed HVLP sprayer (if I spray)

 

Thanks; that helps. When you were talking about spraying, I pictured an airless sprayer. I honestly don't think there's any advantage to conventional spraying over rolling or brushing, particularly with a low-pressure gun. It's not going to be hitting hard enough to drive finish into the wood pores like an airless would. Both the primer and the paint should have reasonably good leveling properties, so anything that will provide a decent thickness of paint will do. In my experience, oil-base paints are pretty forgiving of such things.

 

In many instances brushing and rolling provides better substrate wetting which in turn provides better adhesion than spraying. Many building material and architectural coatings specs call for back brushing or back rolling after spraying.