Hey everyone,

I'm doing some cabinet work for our master bath, and I'm trying to
stain some pieces to match some store-bought cabinets. I have the color
right, but for some reason, much of the wood isn't really absorbing the
stain.

I am using "soft maple" as Paxton here in Austin labeled it. I'm using
minwax "Red Oak" and "Cherry," one after the other to get the right
color. The stains are oil-based.

To prep the wood for staining, I used my smother to get the stiles and
rails even, then went over everything with a palm finish sander (220
grit). Once it was really smooth, I alternated between my compressor
blower and a brush to get all the sawdust off.

I'm thinking that maybe the sander somehow compressed dust into the
pores of the maple, and that's blocking absorbtion. That's pure
speculation though.

I didn't have this problem with the same wood using lighter honey
stains on previous work. I can't remember how I prepped those pieces
for staining though.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike