Preparing the wood for finishing means getting it all the same as well as getting it clean, smooth, and level. What do I mean by all the same?
Sandpaper leaves a scratch pattern in wood. Different types and grits of sandpaper leave different sizes and shapes of scratches. Scrapers and planes leave still another type of surface.
When you put stain on wood, especially stain that contains pigments, the stain “takes” to the wood darker, lighter, more or less even depending on the wood surface. To get a uniform surface, always prepare all areas of the piece the same. If you scrape, scrape all areas. If you sand, sand all areas with the same type and grit sandpaper. That way, your stain will go on more evenly with more uniform color.
Try this experiment. Sand one half of a maple, pine, or cherry board with 120 grit paper and the other half all the way up to 220. Now take your favorite wiping stain and stain and wipe both sections. Look at the color. Do the same test with scraping one half and sanding the other. See what I mean?
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