Uh, I am a dinosaur. If the wood has the character of a sapwood fence board, I'll stain it with French Red Stain, or a mix of powered water stains in the color of choice and raise the grain at the same time, then strike off the whiskers. If it is unusually porous, I'll seal it with Art's Gun Stock Filler. After a good 220 grit sanding I soak it with half and half turpentine and marine spar varnish until the wood absorbs all it can. Set that mess aside for a week to dry. Then begin sanding with Wet or Dry 320 grit pads dipped in the thinned varnish mix. Wipe it cross grain and set aside for a day or two and repeat until all the little dimples are filled and the thick varnish mess disappears. Then I switch to 400 grit and start over. I only use steel wool on pots and pans. After another week to cure, the finish goes on, by hand rubbing. Each coat is reduced with 600 grit and wet sanding with a half and half mixture of turpentine and what ever stock finish I'm using (Lin-Speed, Tru Oil, Pro-Custom Oil, etc.) until it looks like the wood could be used for a telescope mirror. Then comes the felt pads and rotten stone to get the proper matte finish. Done. Only stocks of "A" grade to Exhibition grade walnut are worthy of all that work however, plain walnut gets a bit less attention.
Now I just use laminated stocks and give them a quick coat of the thinned varnish sealer, a quick sanding and a spray of Gun Sav'r Custom Oil Finish. There's so much resin glue in the laminate stocks they don't absorb sealers and finish as well, after all they're plywood, and I'm getting too old for all this rigmarole.
