Gesso Situation

Starting up with painting again has been on my mind constantly. Unfortunately, time and money are not permitting.

My resourceful hubby, an avid dumpster diving pack rat, picked up five huge canvases at his work today. Art department throw aways, I'm assuming (he works at a college).

I'm defintely going to need to cover these.
I have a big tub of gesso.
I have a big paint brush.
I have an electric sander and sand paper.

Following the package directions and using these tools have never really resulted in the texture I like for painting. I could really use some tips and advice from my fellow artists.

Best advice will get freebie from me and a mention here. Make sure to email me your mailing address so I can send it to you. Thanks.

lmartinart@yahoo.com