A painter's mitt features a plastic liner so your hand doesn't get covered in paint. Just use a sponge to apply paint directly onto the mitt. Wrap the mitt around the item you're painting, such as a spindle on a chair, and just massage the paint onto the surface (figure A). Finish with the sponge and get into any recesses you might have missed and clean up any drips.A sponge brush with its sharp, tapered tip is especially good for getting into tight crevices and recesses (figure B). A sponge doesn't leave brush marks or air bubbles and gives full, even coverage.