Beautiful piece turned into mush cause i'm no good at staining.

How did you apply the stain? Brush, rag, spray? I tend to apply it with a brush or a rag and wipe off the excess working the stain in all directions to get it into the grain. Sadly though, some times wood doesn't take stain very well and you do tend to get blotchyness. I've never put a sealer on before staining though. I just apply it to the raw wood after I've stained it then apply the sealer. As for what to do now, well it would be a shame to paint over such a lovely piece and trying to sand in tight spaces is difficult. You can try and use a stripper to remove the lacquer and and sand the stain off and try staining it again. Wost thing that can happen is you have to paint it. If you do paint it, be sure to use a good primer or something like Kilz so the color doesn't come through. And a word of advice for next time. Save a piece of your left over wood you're using and test your stains and finish on, it can save you a lot of heart ache. Good luck, I hope to see the finished piece.

Hi, chris i applied the stain with a rag and brush. I think i may need to paint it.
What would the procedure be for that?

How did you apply the stain? Brush, rag, spray? I tend to apply it with a brush or a rag and wipe off the excess working the stain in all directions to get it into the grain. Sadly though, some times wood doesn't take stain very well and you do tend to get blotchyness. I've never put a sealer on before staining though. I just apply it to the raw wood after I've stained it then apply the sealer. As for what to do now, well it would be a shame to paint over such a lovely piece and trying to sand in tight spaces is difficult. You can try and use a stripper to remove the lacquer and and sand the stain off and try staining it again. Wost thing that can happen is you have to paint it. If you do paint it, be sure to use a good primer or something like Kilz so the color doesn't come through. And a word of advice for next time. Save a piece of your left over wood you're using and test your stains and finish on, it can save you a lot of heart ache. Good luck, I hope to see the finished piece.

Gov,
That's a beautiful cabinet so don't give up and paint it.
Although a little late, my first question is what type of wood is it?
I assume that there is plywood in the construction so sanding the finish back to new wood is not possible.
Quote I did my best to remove the sanding sealer but and re sanded but it doesn't look like th echemical didn't penetrate all the way through so even on my second pass i get blotchiness. Did you reapply a sealer before reapplying the stain and lacquer?
First, you can remove the lacquer with lacquer thinner. It will take a few applications but it will come off. I don't think that all of the blotchy spots will come out without sanding. I would suggest a stripper and get as much of the stain off as possible. After a good cleaning and a light sanding, apply a coat of shellac, as Jim said.
Here's where you have a few options. You could try another stain that is darker than the original and try to hide the blotches. You could paint it.
You could apply a dye. A dye can be applied in layers until the blotches are covered.
Please practice the next steps on scrap wood before applying to your cabinet.
The steps are simple: After the shellac coat has dried apply a coat of clear lacquer.
Mix the powered dye with lacquer per the instructions on the container.
Spray the dye/lacquer mixture until you get the desired effect.
Put on a top coat of clear lacquer to complete your project.

I used this method on a small Soft Maple cabinet that I posted in my projects section.

Keith