I love the way the stain caught the grain. I raised the grain with water first then sanded it back as it was a water based stain. There are a couple of slightly raised spots but for the most part it's super smooth. I used some water to thin it out once it was on and get it even. I'm not sure whether to sand it back and do one more coat or just jump straight to the clear coat. I'm probably going to use steel wool to apply wipe on poly so that might help the few little patches where the grain is raised to level out when I apply it. First time finishing wood so I'm relying entirely on YouTube lol.