Shake the bottle of ground thoroughly. There is a little ball inside the bottle; shake for at least two minutes after you hear it rattling, then set the bottle aside for a while to allow all of those bubbles to subside.
Wet the application brush in clean water before applying the ground; this will help to keep the ground from caking up in the ferrule of the brush. I use a two-inch wide white sable brush called a Polar-Flow.
Squirt about an ounce of ground onto the paper or panel, and brush it out to cover the entire area. Work quickly but carefully, and keep a wet edge always, and smooth it out with long, even strokes in one direction. Allow to dry, then apply another coat in the cross-direction.
After every coat, thoroughly rinse out the brush. Don’t allow the ground to dry in the brush.
One coat of ground is sufficient to show a mark from a metal point; more coats increase the response. I use four coats, and very lightly sand the final coat with #400-grit open-coat sandpaper.
Experiment with the ground – You could apply the third coat with a sponge or splatter it with a toothbrush, deliberately making a textured surface somewhat like coquille board. The ground works on just about any support surface, including small blocks of wood. I’ve used it on canvas, and what a unique result! Caveat: I recommend bonding the canvas to a panel with glue size to keep it from distorting while drawing; even the softest silver point is still metal. Have the courage to play!
Adding color to grounds – You can tint your ground by adding liquid pigment such as Luma Brilliant Concentrated Watercolor. Some people have also used powdered pigment; mull the powdered pigment with a little bit of ground and water first before mixing it into the blend, or you’ll get spotting and streaking. Some people have also used colored inks. I don’t recommend paints such as gouache, pan watercolor, or acrylic, but that doesn’t mean you can’t experiment if you want to.