I've had the same results, on pine I think the pre-stain is essential. Without it stained pine always looks very crude to me. If you are trying to get a very dark stain on pine, you may have difficulty using the pre-stain. Always experiment on scrap pieces of wood before putting it on your main piece of work.
The pre stain does look 'better', but to be honest, I like the other one too, inspite of the blotchiness. The penny-pincher in me has never wanted to pre stain!
@@DIYMAN You are right about that. If you are building for someone, even if it's not a paying customer, you want to do your best because they can really be like an inspector!
I only use conditioner when I’m staining pine. As for Polycrylic, it’s the best. I’m also a huge fan of shellac, although don’t use it much in the winter indoors due to the fumes. Just spray and it dries almost instantly.
That’s a great point. Guess I shoulda tested it on a couple different species. I’ve never had an issue with blotchiness on other species though so I’m sure you’re right. I’ve never tried shellac. I’ll have to investigate
I've alaways used pre-stain for pine or birch although I've ended up applying stain three times in a row in a lot of cases. But, like you say, if you want a rough, rustic look then don't pre-stain, especially if you want a really dark result. I have a 300-year old oak chest that was stained with cow's blood (in Québec it's called 'sang de boeuf') and I brought it back to a shining glow by rubbing in... Vitamin E oil! So, it's all about the look you want, whatever method you use!
