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Richard . . . so sorry to be so long answering your gesso question.
I use acrylic gesso, and your are dead right . . . the gritty texture it leaves behind is mighty hard on brushes. But, it is this same grittiness that also leaves behind more of that "draggy" feel one gets from canvas.
I have never sanded my panels smooth in an effort to attenuate this harshness. I have, however, applied a much thinned sizing (with RSG) because it was said that sizing would eliminate this harmful drag. It did eliminate the drag, alright, but it also turned the surface of the panel into a very slick surface.
I'm talking about using a much thinned size on the surface of the acrylic gesso. Thus, the size is "on top," so to speak. I have since stopped this sizing step. I have decided that I will suffer the way acrylic gesso harms brushes in favor of the small cost of the panel as opposed to the larger cost of an equal sized canvas.
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