Possibly the reason you get better results by sloshing on the cyanotype
mixture pretty heavily is that at some time early this century someone
copying from the older recipes made the mistake of forgetting that to get
200ml of final solution you add 100ml of part A to 100ml of part B and
worked it out on the assumption you needed 200ml of each solution.
Many source since that time have copied this mistake - it is, for example,
in the Keepers of Light. So the solutions commonly used are at half
strength.
For the record, I use:
Solution A:
36 gm green Ferric ammonium citrate in 100ml water
Solution B:
16g potassium ferricyanide in 100ml water
Mix equal amounts as required. I haven't yet found any way not to get a good
coating with a brush. Haven't had any problems with metal bound brushes
either. Sizing absolutely unnecessary. Avoid direct sunlight when
coating, but normal room light is fine. Fabriano Artistico gives a nice
bright result, but many other papers are also fine, including some of the
cheaper ones - I got a whole stack of free cartridge paper which is great
for student work.
petermarshall@cix.compulink.co.uk