Shaun Temple 
Legendary Painting 
Gresham, Oregon 

Some of the pressurized applicators I’ve used have their own set of challenges. Definitely, I think a sign-painting roller takes the cake. You have to pump it and push the ink through it as you roll it, similar to a sign-painting brush. Some other examples are some of the Wagner pressurized homeowner tools. I think the trick with all pressurized tools is maintaining consistent pressure. The difficulty with a tool that has its own a reservoir is that in order to keep that consistent pressure, you have to get feel for it. 

With a sign-painting roller or brush, you fill the container and then pump it until it is full. With either the brush or roller, you want to pump it before you start writing. It’s similar with the Wagner Smart Edge roller, for example. I will say that the guard does make it convenient for quick touchups, but maintaining the pressure and keeping it clean and mess-free are very difficult. 

There are some amazing tools, but ultimately the truest form of painting always goes back to a classic roller and a brush, which create the best adhesion. I believe that the best advice for anybody trying to look into new gadgets is to understand that adding them may not make it more efficient — it could even make them more complicated, or it could be a game changer for your company. Do your research. 

Cindy Howard 
Faux and Decorative Finishes 
Sugar Land Texas 

Oh, how I love my stain pads! The stain pad is absolutely the most versatile, time saving, and accessible tool in our bag of tricks. They have so many ways of making a finisher and decorative artisan look good. Glazing cabinets and furniture is one of my favorites. Whether the builder, designer or client wants a rub back, a strié finish, shading, antiquing, or other look, the stain pad helps create all those effects and more. 

Some uses include: 

• When glazing on textured walls, using a stain pad lightly across the high points gives dimension to add character to the room. 
• We need to use a sealer on Venetian plaster at times, and a stain pad is our tool of choice for application. 
• Depending on the desired look for brickwash, we use the stain pad to finesse our variation in the amount of coverage. 
•  …and obviously for staining wood, we love it.