Quote Originally Posted by AndrewA View Post
Hi Andy, thats just the first coat. In the last photo, the patch that looks like a flash reflection is bare wood showing through where the stain didn't take. Hopefully a few more coats will fix it.
That is pretty normal with 1st coats as invariably there will be parts that take stain less than others. Subsequent coats with a bit of concentrated effort around the 'bare' patches should do the trick. If the bare patches look a bit shinier than others that could be one of the reasons stain is not taking hold too well and therefore require a bit of scuff sanding.