Printing with sandwiched negatives

From my test and confirmation strips I have determined that I will need to expose this image for around 35 seconds at grade 2.5. As my strips dried they fell of the wall and onto a bench worktop. When I picked them up I realised that they had patches of gloss. This really surprised me since as it is matt paper, maybe there was something on the worktop that left chemical residue on the paper and dried glossy.

Gloss on left.

 Gloss on left.

Gloss on lower right corner.

This is my first full sized print. It doesn't look too bad, one of the negatives is placed slightly too far into the other image and looks strange, I feel that there is too much white, I may have to split grade print. After repositioning I have quickly gone over the negatives with a fine brush to get the dust off.

The second print looked a lot better. I switched the grade 2.5 exposure to 30 seconds and 5 seconds at grade 00, however I think it still needs slightly more mid tones, I will try 27 seconds to 8 seconds.

Both prints 1 and 2 fell of the drying cord overnight which has dented a corner on both. Print 2 was face down on the floor. Something has effected print 2 whilst drying, it looks like chemical burns, possibly bleach that is used to clean the floor. Overall more pegs are required to hold the weight of the paper and water.

Print 3 has a lot of dust and hair marks from the negative so I am going to have to clean them again. However the paper is quite flat, this may be the best method to dry them.

I am starting to get a little frustrated with this print because I am using a lot of paper and time, I am going to make everything perfect with this print. I have cleaned and positioned the negatives correctly. I washed my hands before I handle the paper out the bag, expose the image and slide it into the developer. I stood with the trays and gently agitated them, just before I have to transfer it to the stop I wash my hands again, then I stay with it, wash my hands again before sliding it into the fix. Once again washing my hands before popping it in the wash. I am putting it in the wash upside down since as the paper floats so that I know it is completely washed. I left it in the wash for at lest 30 minutes before taking it out to view. So far it looks almost perfect, there are 3 small dust marks but they are unnoticeable from a distance. Hopefully it dries correctly.

Which it has, the print is relatively flat and has barely any marks or stains. I am very pleased with this final outcome.