In ,
-MIKE- spewed forth:
The guy at woodcraft suggested using regular old brown paper grocery
bags, instead of 320-400-ish sandpaper, to knock off the raised grain
after staining. Well, I just tried it and it seemed to do a pretty
good job.

I remember talking to a friend of mine who does auto paint jobs and
custom helmets and hockey masks. He said that on the occasion he can't
find any 2000-ish grit for his final inspection wet sanding, he'll
just grab some printer paper.

Yup, an old finisher buddy taught me that trick and it works great.
Brown lunch bag or newspaper works well too