Paul Oman wrote:

It turned into a blotchy milky film, when I mentioned it to someone
at the local Woodcraft he said he'd seen similar results before. The
humidity wasn't high, I let the Minwax oil stain dry between
applications and let the last one sit for a couple of days before
putting on the Lawrence-McFadden poly. Of course with my
generalized woodworking ignorance there could well be other factors
I'm unaware of (that's usually a safe bet).

Being in the epoxy business, I've seen the same. Think one needs to
let the stains (oil or water) dry/cure for more than just a few days
(say - guess - 1 or 2 weeks) before topcoating with anything.

paul oman

Thanks, that's useful info. I'm going to sand and start over, and use a gel
urethane stain from the beginning which is what I should have done to start
with. I'll bill myself by the hour on this job, I'll be rich! Errr, wait a
minute....