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Hi BarbaraM! I would say that if you’ve never changed your guitar strings, you should definitely notice a difference in feel and sound when you put a new set on. There is somewhat of a “wow” factor after that first change…
What you are feeling now is likely rust and grime. A new set of strings will glide under your fingertips much more smoothly and the sound will really shine! As for wiping down your guitar, I believe a lot of people use those microfiber cloths. Admittedly, I don’t do this, but I change my strings enough and clean/polish my guitar a few times year so I feel like that does the trick for me. But wiping down your strings after each session with a microfiber cloth certainly can’t hurt.
The coated strings will generally feel and play like other strings, but have an extra coating on it that is supposed to extend the life of strings by keeping the dirt and grime from affecting the strings as quickly. They might also claim to help them sound “newer” for longer. I couldn’t tell you if that is true or not cause I don’t have the trained ear, but I enjoy playing them just as much as any other guitar string.
I would say that there is generally no right or wrong string to try, except to possibly go with a lighter gauge string (easier on the fingers than a medium gauge string). I’ve seen strings marketed as “light” gauge, “custom light,” “hybrid light,” “light plus,” “extra light…” Any of those should be fine. Have fun and try various brands/sounds until you find out what you enjoy!
And yes, the first time to change them yourself can be daunting, but those videos I suggested earlier in this chat thread really helped me through. Also, the string changing method I reference walks you through how the wraps wind around the post/etc, and how to measure how much string gets winded… he really holds your hand through the process.
In fact… I’ll just post one of the videos below. He has about 3 (he does a new one about every 3-5 years) and I would recommend watching them all. I’m only going to post one, but you can find the rest by searching for “Taylor guitar restring” or “Rob Magargal restring.”
https://youtu.be/80EuGOXgoOo?si=clqbV7tl8PkDeNIz
Hope this helps.
Maybe you could even find a friend (or guitar shop) to help you change your first set.
I would love to hear how this goes for you! Cheers!