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The most critical part of finishing a piece of furniture happens before you open a can of stain or paint - it starts with the sanding. Sanding is critical to creating a smooth surface. Use the following sanding sequences for new wood:

PAINT

For wood that is going to be painted, use 120-grit, followed by 150-grit.

This problem could be caused by the surface tension of the oak. Surface Tension, sometimes created by sanding, can cause stains to not adhere to the grain of the wood.

You have a few options:

1. Lightly hand-apply the first coat, then spray (without wiping) a second coat.
2. Hand-apply stain the first coat. Then tone the piece by applying a mix of 10-15% stain with topcoat.

General Finishes Pro Image Topcoat or Pro Shield Topcoat can be applied directly to the stain without a sealer.

In cases of species like White Oak top coats can pull tannin from the wood leaving an undesirable color affect. Many closed grain woods such as maple, walnut, and cherry may only require one seal coat and two finish coats. Most open grain woods such as the oaks and ash will need two seal coats to increase the build of the finish and improve the final result. If in doubt, put down a coat of sealer.

There are several reasons to choose Dye Stain. Here are a few.

Maple is one of the most difficult woods to achieve a dark, uniform stain color on because it is a dense, closed grain wood and often absorbs stain very unevenly. General Finishes Gel Stains or Water Based Stains usually will perform very well because they are more topical than traditional liquid oil stains, and contain more colorants.