Hi Matt,
I'm sure most folks only go to about 180 or 240 grit when sanding so that stain will absorb more evenly.

This is a quote from Simon Barden re sanding:
"240 at most but 180 is better. You really only need to get the surface flat before staining. Too high a grit and you can burnish the wood surface in places, causing uneven stain take-up. Save the finer grits until after you’ve put your finish coats on. Just nake sure that you’ve removed all the sanding marks from any coarser grits you may have used to start with, as scratches will absorb more stain and show up as darker lines."

Taken from the thread https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=11001.

I have tried to follow these suggestions with my builds. I'm sure the ceruse style would be the same.

Regards