I have never had trouble with brush marks in the
print.
I always humidify the paper with a sonic mister
before coating (just enough to take the "snap"
out of the paper). (NOTE: an exception can be a
thin paper like Bienfang 360.) I always coat
with a soft, clean, damp (but not wet with
distilled water) brush. I always dry with a
hair dryer to "bone dry" before exposing
(waiting for the coating to look matte before
drying - to prevent possible puddling)(And,
sometimes doing the hold it by various corners
and edges for the coating to flow even
technique.) I never let a coating sit for more
than 3 hours before exposing (usually less than
two)(And, always re-drying immediately before
exposing).
Ambient humidity has made a difference in that
it was easiest to get good results in Phoenix
and most difficult to get good results in
Tampa. But, I still get good results. However,
I do get more reject prints in Tampa, Florida
(where the humidity is usually higher than the
temperature, rarely below 70%, and typically 80%
or 90%, and frequently 100% -IT'S WET. On
occasion there have been extreme dry spells for
very short periods where the humidity has
plummeted to a crispy 40%.)
I have noticed that uneven marks can result if:
- coating dries and then gets wet, touched, or
recoated
- coating is too thin
- coating is too thick or puddles
- developer stops and restarts flowing over the
print
- a reject paper is used
And the above can happen in any ambient
humidity.
In none of these cases have the marks been
identifiable as brush marks but marks none the
less. Again, if your marks look like brush
marks, suspect that the brush is contaminated.
Otherwise correct for the items listed above.
Jeff