How do you prepare a canvas using Gesso?

I thin down my gesso just enough so that when I brush it on to the canvas it does not leave brush marks. I usually work on several at the same time and wait for each coat to dry before putting on another. This can take quite some time but I prefer not to have to sand to make the canvas smooth. I have a video on my YouTube channel demonstrating how I make a panel and how I apply gesso, you can view it here.