Refinishing A Desk - Deep Stain Penetration

[gMike]

I'm redoing an old desk (small writing desk) with a very muddy dark brown finish. I sanded it all down only to find the wood looks like poplar.

The stain that was used penetrated very deeply into the wood. If I were to try and get rid of all the old stain the wood would be about 1/2" thick. What's left is a mix of white poplar and dark red splotches of remaining stain. I need to cover this remaining stain and try to get a uniform finish.

My questions:
-Would a sanding sealer be a good idea before I apply stain?
-What type of stain would cover this mess best? (Thinking a gel stain or ?)
-Would a tinted poly help even out the blotchy mess?

Any help greatly appreciated!

[JR1]

First sanding sealer has no place in real WW. It's a crutch for commercial shops who use NC lacquer and want to save on sand paper.
Second as you don't have any grain to preserve a water based gel would work well; you just need to wipe it almost as soon as it's applied to avoid the plastic look. (A seal coat of shellac might help even things out before the gel is applied.)
A tint coat of shellac with transtint might do it but if the gel stain doesn't do the job no other tint approach will do as well.

Frankly I'd consider painting it—although I'm not a real big fan of paint.

[Howard Acheson]

As has been said, sanding is a very poor way to remove an existing finish. It does not remove stains that are deeply absorbed into the wood.

The preferred removal method is to use a chemical paint/stain remover containing methylene chloride as its primary chemical.

I would suggest you now use the chemical paint remover and see where that leaves you. It may still leave some color in the wood. Then proceed as described above. Gel stain or painting may be your best options.