Normal procedure for staining wood is like this, according to all
manuals:
1. Buy stain grade wood
2. Apply wood conditioner
3. Apply stain
4. Apply varnish


If I want to preserve the natural color of the wood (rather than make
it darker), then they tell you to apply Natural Stain (#209 at Home
Depot) at step 3.


But could I, instead, buy paint grade wood (which is much cheaper than
stain grade), and just apply varnish alone, without stain ?