I remember a moment when I was in school painting a marble texture on a HUGE stage floor.  It was one of the first times I was primarily responsible for getting the job done with little to no supervision.  I had a crew that included about six other students.  I had painted marble for scene painting class, but only as big as a 4' x 6' canvas, so I learned a whole lot the hard way on this project.  

 In my infinite inexperienced wisdom, some of the first steps included sponging the whole floor with a few different colors by hand.  If you've ever tried this over a large area, you're probably giggling knowingly at the moment.  It took significantly longer than I had expected.  

 The look of the sponging was great, but I swore I'd never do quite that to myself ever again.  There had to be a better way.

I'm not sure exactly when these things were invented, but one day around 5 or 6 years ago I was at Lowes and discovered a roller cover that was sea sponge instead of normal roller fuzziness.  I was ecstatic, but would it work as well as I thought it might?  Mostly, yes.

 The Pros

Using this sea sponge roller, all by myself I can texture a sizable stage floor in just a couple hours for a two or three color random blendy texture.  It takes a little longer for more colors or a more precise texture.  It works well on walls too, and when attached to a handle, you can "sponge" fairly high on a wall from the comfort of the floor.  This saves tons of time compared to climbing up and down ladders with a hand sponge.

The Cons

It is easy to accidentally leave straight lines where the edge of the roller rolled if you are not careful.  With some experience, hiding those lines becomes somewhat habit, but at first I remember struggling with that a lot.  Shorter, choppy strokes with the roller help.

It is easier to goober the paint with the roller than with just a hand sponge if your technique is heavy.  This will take forever to dry, and if you are in the habit of painting over the same surface for multiple shows, it may leave a ghost image of the texture when painted over because it will be mildly dimensional.  This is not a problem if you work light and thin, but it all depends on the specific technique and your habits. 

Washing these roller covers takes forever.  At about $15 a piece, you want to wash them well though. 

Get a Deal on the 3-Pack of Sea Sponge Rollers

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