Joe,

When you stain on top of it, are you applying the stain rather
heavily, like paint?
Let's suppose after the conditioner, you apply stain, then within a
couple minutes wipe the stain off with a cloth. Is there any color
left? I think I'm trying to ask if the conditioner seals the wood and
causes the stain application to simply be a coating on the surface of
the wood.

I don't know what the Min Wax Pre-conditioner is made of, or how it
accomplishes it's task. I do know if you wait more than the 15 minutes
directed on the can, the stain can go on splotchy again. Though I often
take 30 minutes or more to stain a large project without any problems, so
I'm not sure where the breaking point is. Just don't precondition today and
expect the stain to go on smooth tomorrow.

As for the stain, I used a gel stain which doesn't tend to soak in as much
as liquid stains. They stay mostly on the surface. I squirt a little on the
stain applicator (cloth covered sponge, available at any home center), then
rub it onto the wood, kind of working it in as I go. It's not a real heavy
application, and I didn't really leave it sitting on the wood. Basically
apply and cleanup as I go. The applicator makes it easy to get a nice even
application. If it looks a little lighter in one area, I'll go back and
work a little more stain in there.

One of the other things I liked about the gel stain was I could apply the
oil based poly almost immediately. When I use a traditional stain, I have
to let it sit for several hours. If I apply the poly too soon, the final
color ends up MUCH lighter than I expected? Don't know why.

The one thing I have NOT had very good experience with are those "stain and
poly in one" things. I can never get a smooth looking finish with those,
with or without pre-conditioner. It may just be my technique, but I've
tried multiple times without any success...

Anthony