Thanks...did a damp wipe and yep little fibres popping up, so will do a gentle sand. Just a question to and you all has anyone done a shellac then stain with blend of french polish shellac tinted about 10-20% with say a warm brown stain? I've used this technique on a hard wood..just tinkering on the weekend and liked the finish however I'm not familiar with basswood so really up for advice and thoughts. And thanks for all the recommends on stains to check out..I'll be a google staining queen by the end of this..