Several woods have very wild grain where end grain adjoins long grain
and they don't accept stain the same resulting in blotchy appearance.
A prestain, or conditioner, fills the pores of the end grain slowing
down the absorbsion of the stain resulting in a more uniform
appearance.

Oil based stuff has more odors and is slower drying. Typically oil
based tends to amber the wood while some water based are considered
"water white" meaning non-ambering.

Not that I'm aware of.

On Tue, 24 May 2005 17:51:48 GMT, "peter" wrote:

What is the function of pre-stain? What happens if I don't use it?

What is the pro/cons of oil based versus water based stain?

Are there products that combine pre-stain, stain, and a clear coat
(polyurethane) in one? It seems a lot of hassle just to stain about 20 feet
of moldings.