Are paint pads like Marmite (you either love them or hate them)?

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We started to paint today which I was delighted about as it means the wallpaper stripping was finally finished.  The excitement was short lived though.  We tried a paint pad as I’d heard that it made a smooth texture and covered evenly.  Hmmm….not on these walls.  Then we resorted to the trusty roller but the coverage is still not great.  So is ir the pad, the paint or worst of all the wall (i.e. even more prep needed?)