Expert: Kirk Ryan - 5/19/2009

Question
My husband sanded our oak table using three different grits as per instructions, he then wet the table down and let it dry for five minutes and then applied his firt coat of minwax stain, let it sit for five minutes and then wiped it off-we have areas that are much lighter than other areas and don't show much grain-it looks like bleach stains-that's the best description I can think of, please advise if you know what we might have done wrong?
Thank you very much for your time!
Sue

Answer
Why oh why did he wet the table? You should have cleaned the table before anything else with a conditioner or an oil. Let the table dry out for a month, then sand! 5 minutes of drying!? No good.

The marks you are seeing are the wood that absorbed the wetness rejecting the wet and also trying to mix with the stain. To apply a stain to a sanded wood you never want it to be wet. 5 minutes is not long enough for the wood below the surface that you can't see to be dried out, it was probably still damp deep. Wood is like a plant, any water or oil it receives it will immediately soak in or take in.