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Canadian funnyman Red Green used a roll of carpet on a forklift to slap a coat of paint on a barn wall in no time flat.

But the unorthodox DIYer and star of “The Red Green Show” (comedian Steve Smith in real life) acknowledged that home decorating’s real hero is the Canuck inventor of the paint roller.

In a 2013 YouTube tribute called “Something you might not know about Canada,” Green lauds Norman Breakey for creating “one of the greatest time-saving devices in the life of any handyman.”

In 1940, Breakey, a Manitoba native who grew up in Toronto, covered a cylinder with absorbent material, slid it onto a handle, soaked it with paint and voila! A wall colour could be changed quickly and easily.

Another Torontonian — fabric supplier Tom Hamilton — contributed to Breakey’s brainchild. After the inventor asked Hamilton’s advice on material for a device he predicted would “revolutionize painting in Canada,” Hamilton sold him a bolt of “bristly green mohair velour.”

He instructed Breakey how to cut it on the bias and what glues to use, and “away he went, beaming out the door,” Hamilton told the Globe and Mail in a 1984 interview.

But Breakey didn’t get a patent, leaving the door open for a Sherwin-Williams employee named Richard Croxton Adams to make and patent a similar gadget.

Early models of the tool that took the pain out of painting big areas were sold under the name Koton Kotor and TECO in the 1940s.

The roller’s debut coincided with a shortage of paint brushes in the wake of the Second World War, and a rising interest in interior design that included decorating walls with paint.

The efficiency of the roller is demonstrated to jaw-dropping effect on YouTube and TikTok videos by a business called Amana Painting in Surrey, B.C. A pro applies paint in an extended zigzag then covers the entire wall with continuous vertical strokes. The job’s done in less than minute.

“Can you cover a wall in 30 seconds? Sure!” says BEHR paints’ Kevin Trotter. But fast or slow, rolling your way to a successful paint job calls for the right product, applicator and method, emphasizes Trotter, manager of learning and development for BEHR Canada.

The “number one thing” is good-quality paint and a roller with a sturdy mechanism and woven — rather than knit — cover. A cheap roller will leave lint and nap marks, advises Trotter.

It’s also important to use the right height of pile or nap, which depends on the smoothness or texture of the surface being painted. (Various YouTube videos explain how to choose and use a roller, including one by This Old House and another by BEHR.)

“It’s not that difficult” to paint with a roller, says Trotter, offering a few technical pointers to ensure a smooth, even finish.

“Don’t overwork it” and don’t mistake a dry spot for a missed spot, causing you to redo it and leave marks, he says. Wait until the whole wall is dry before applying a second coat.

Trotter suggests using a pole with the roller, which is easier on the body and gives you a better view of your work from a distance.

Not on Trotter’s tip sheet, but distractions can be a painter’s worst nightmare — if Walter Fielding’s experience counts for anything.

In the 1986 romcom “The Money Pit” about a home reno gone wild, Fielding (Tom Hanks), with paint can in hand, gets sidetracked by a worker. He then falls victim to a chain reaction of calamities that lands him in the fountain outside, making wet paint the least of his worries.

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