I use the non foam backed Anza paint pads. They are however increasingly difficult to source. At the moment the only places in the UK that seem to sell them are chandlers.
eg
https://www.marinestore.co.uk/Paint_Pad_Anza_Complete.html
I use the 170mm version for large surfaces and the 85 mm version for door styles and rails.
Before discovering them (about 20 years ago) I used to use a short mohair mini roller and then create the tramlines with a brush. However the roller and brush option was (and is) much slower and inferior.
I would strongly recommend that you purchase some Owatrol Oil. It helps you maintain a wet edge and makes it easier to lay the paint off. On one of my current jobs I am using Little Greene OB eggshell to paint MDF walls. Other than Owatrol, I am adding white spirit and some terebene. The white spirit thins the paint very slightly without making the paint too translucent. The Owatrol allows me to pull the pad or brush over the surface in one long movement without the paint dragging. The terebene is an oxidisng agent- it helps the paint harden faster- On my other job, I have been painting MDF doors and panels for another client. The client wants something that looks like it was sprayed and then the last coat was hand applied with very, very minimal tramlines (tramlines is a reference to brush marks).
The terebene has enabled me to sand the doors flat the next day after each coat of eggshell. I sand the doors using 240 grit Festool Granat mesh (which is very similar to Abranet). Being a mesh means that that soft paint doesn't clog the abrasive.
A big downside to sanding the paint so early is that the paint dust clings to the surface. I vacuum it and then use a dusting brush. I then use a tack cloth and brush it again and finally wipe my hand over the surface.
My preferred brushes are the Purdy Sprig Elite and Wooster Ultra Pro. A 50mm brush will be about £12-15. They are both synthetic brushes so you don't need to worry about bristles snapping off. Overnight/indefinitely I store them and the pad in a Brushmate (approx £18), it is a box that uses vapors to keep oil based brushes fresh.You clip the brushes in s that they are suspended, the paint pads- I drop them in to the plastic wallet that they were supplied in and drop that in to the Brushmate.
There are two sizes of Brushmate boxes, The Brushmate 4 is fine for your usage. It has a replaceable vapour pad but the pad is a fiver. I buy the bottle of vapour producing liquid which is used in the £90 Brushmate 20 and simply pour it on to the Brushmate 4 pad. The bottle only costs £9 and will replenish a brushmate 4 for a couple of years (depending on how often you open it and where you store the box)
