Hard Maple should only be sanded to 120. any more and the stain will be too
light. Also put the stain on with 0000 steal wool. Let stand on the wood
for a few minutes and wipe off with a rag. The softer you wipe the darker
the stain. This seems to work well for me.

Jim


"greg" wrote in message
...
I am in the process of finishing up with a bed room set, and need to start
finishing it. I have made a few test boards and am not happy with the
results of the stain. It is all hard maple, and this is my first time with
maple. It just looks bad, it doesn't bring out the grain , it hides it and
looks blotchy, sanding sealer helps with the blotchy a bit, but it's still
very monotone when it's done.

Any and all suggestions would be helpful, Thanks

G