I've got some contrasty negs that don't need any Na2 for printing, just palladium. (My usual negs have needed a fair amount of Na2 to print.)
I made a test strip that looked lovely. I've made a number of prints, and they are all bronzing. The one I've posted here is the least bronzed of the bunch.
I tried a few extra drops so there'd be lots of sensitizer, as my experience was that thin coating led to bronzing. Didn't work. I tried putting fewer drops on the page, and spreading it kinda thin (C.James suggested too much coating and puddling as being a possible cause.) That one was terribly bronzed. James also suggests that bronzing happens when the paper's not dry enough, so I spread another sheet and then cut it up. Waited 10 minutes longer than usual for the 1st peice to dry (hung up in the dark). The longest a piece rested before being exposed was an hour. They all bronzed about the same.
I'm being careful about washing the brush with distilled water, using the same paper (cot320), and the same sideof the paper. The paper for the test strip was from the same package of Cot 320. I've been trying for 3 days now, and the initial test is still the only decent one.
Any suggestions from the experts?
The first thumbnail is bronzed, the 2nd is the test strip.