by JimG » Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:30 pm
AlexV,
I'm not a professional, but I have refinished many pieces of furniture. In that amateur opinion, the spotty areas appear to be either too much sanding or not enough. I would bet the former, which is good. Take the finish all the way down to bare wood. It should all sand like a bare 2 x 4. Any area that looks different before stain will look worse after stain. Bare wood will absorb the new color and be darker, while the part that is not bare wood still holds some oil from the previous stain and resists the new coating making it lighter.
Once down to bare wood use a pre stain wood treatment. MinWax makes a good pre treatment. It kinda moistens up the wood and allows the stain to penetrate more evenly. And then I may be wrong which is why they all know me by first name at Lowe's. :;):
I'm curious as to the method of getting the outer poly coat off. Did you sand that too?
JimG
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson