A Q-tip will hold 4 to 6 drops of Iodine before it becomes saturated, much of it unusable and wasted. Try this. Pull the cotton off the end of a Q-tip leaving only a small number of strands of cotton left on the stick. Spin them around the stick and this will be enough to only hold one drop of Iodine. I do this over a sink full of water to catch any drops that fall off the Q-tip. Put on one drop, paint, put on another drop and paint some more.