I'm pretty much a home improvement jack-of-all-trades, and for years I've
been applying one thin coat of stain, wiping it off right away and going,
that's too light. Crap. But this last time, I had to match a dark cherry
shade with Minwax stain. So I used the following method:
Apply the sealer (on pine)
Apply a coat of stain without wiping it off and allow about 10 minutes,
then feather it lightly to remove streaks before it sets with a brush.
Apply another coat and do the same thing.
And another, as many as it takes to get to the shade you want, as long
as you feather it out with a bristle brush just before it sets.
Wait at least 2 days before varnishing, the longer the better, and I guarantee
there will be no stain bleeding off into your brush, and you'll be able to
stand back and admire a job well done.

what Leon said, OR:
Iif you can find it, Bonakemi DriFast stain, which is an oil modified quick dry
stain. There aren't lots of colors, but if you find the color you need, it is
awesome stuff. I used it recently after being warned away from Miniwax stains for
staining my living room floor during a refinishing project. Bonakemi tech support
said that customer complaints of adhesion problems were due to using Miniwax
stains under their floor finishs.

dave

BUB 209 wrote:

I'm pretty much a home improvement jack-of-all-trades, and for years I've
been applying one thin coat of stain, wiping it off right away and going,
that's too light. Crap. But this last time, I had to match a dark cherry
shade with Minwax stain. So I used the following method:
Apply the sealer (on pine)
Apply a coat of stain without wiping it off and allow about 10 minutes,
then feather it lightly to remove streaks before it sets with a brush.
Apply another coat and do the same thing.
And another, as many as it takes to get to the shade you want, as long
as you feather it out with a bristle brush just before it sets.
Wait at least 2 days before varnishing, the longer the better, and I guarantee
there will be no stain bleeding off into your brush, and you'll be able to
stand back and admire a job well done.

Hey Dave,
How does that DriFast stain do when it comes to lap marks and where did you
get it?
Have you ever tried Bartleys? It only comes in about 12 colors so selection
is small but it too dries quickly. You can pretty much handle it in a
couple minutes after wiping off the excess and the same goes for their gel
wiping varnish. After a minute or two dust does not stick to it.