staining depands of the nature of wood too : some wood are more soft than other, and take the stain better. So sanding the wood before staining it help the stain to go inside the "raw" wood too. Going inside the wood, that is the key, because stain has to go inside, it's not like a varnish or a paint.
Diluting the stain for first coat can be a good idea too, in this purpose...
but no real magic formula, since stain coating power may vary depanding of the color, even in the same brande range !
for the varnish, I use acrilic again...but i don't have any basement or garage, I have to work in my gameroom/workshop so I try to find products drying fast and without (too much) odors...
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