What kind of condition is the door in now? Is it rough, has it changed colors, any joint separations, How big of a gouge? I suspect the trouble you had with the previous door and stain fluctuation, was the conditioner that you mentioned. What was it? I'm not fully sure of the staining properties of Hemlock, but it probably prevented the stain from penetrating evenly. The sanding shouldn't have caused the stain to vary. If the door is still in good shape,I would sand the door smooth (it should be relatively smooth from the factory)...180 to 220 should be fine, and be sure to sand with the grain. Stain with a good oil based stain, (Minwax is hard to beat-Brush it on with a good bristle brush and wipe it with a soft cloth to keep it even)let it dry 24 hours and buff it lightly with 4/0 steel wool, vacumn it or blow it with compressed air to remove all the dust and apply the finish coat, either satin polyurethane or spar varnish. You can thin the finish coats down and apply several for a really slick finish. The gouge can be repaired either before or after the stain. If it's inconspicuous, you could use a good filler before staining and proceed,(get one that is pre- colored or one that will "take" stain) If it's pretty visible, you may want to get one of the accompanying fillers that matches your stain and put it on after you stain between the stain and the final finish. I think that would be my choice.

Wayne,Thanks for all the feedback.To the naked eye, the wood doesn't look like too bad. It's kind of dirty but I'm sure that will sand off. There are a couple of really small hairline cracks in the wood, but they look like they are just on the surface. I'm really confused about your comment that you think the conditioner caused the staining problems.I was told that because hemlock was a soft wood that it needed the conditioner or the stain would be blotchy. In fact it's made by Minwax and is called a pre-stain wood conditioner. Your experience is that it causes the blotchiness?

bump! I'm about to take on some staining of Hemlock wood and was planning on using Minwax pre-conditioner then Minwax oil-based stain.

Try sanding ---preferrably with a random orbit sander---with 150 grit. That will take off some of the stained wood---the Minwax stain does not penetrate far into wood.

Sanding can also lighten the color---desirable in your situation.

I have found off the shelf conditioners often darken the wood when applied---not really desirable. I like to use what is know as a one pound cut of white(blond) shellac instead. That is one pound of shellac flakes disolved in one gallon of denatured alcohol. A somewhat easier method for a one time use is to buy a quart of white shellac(premixed) and mix with two quarts of denatured alcohol---that approximates the one pound cut amount.

However, if sanding with the 150 grit paper winds up creating the desired color, treating/restaining won't need to be done.

I use marine spar varnish on exterior doors. That product will add an amber tint---which increases with each coat. But, you almost need a before and after comparrison to see it. Three coats, each allowed to dry for 24 hours, hand sanding with 220 or 320 sandpaper after the first two coats---just to knock down the fuzzies.

Depending on the weather conditions and sunlight, the finish will need to be redone from 2-6 years later---sanding off the final coat and one coat applied.

I'm surprised hemlock would be employed for the formality of a front door - they usually use it for barn siding and rough work around here, and it is prone to splintering as well. I would guess yours is probably western hemlock, which is more stable than eastern and I believe they used a lot for porch trim, like the wainscot type you see on old enclosed porches and porch ceilings. The grain is kind of nice - but the wood has a lot of tannin in it. If your door isn't that exposed to the elements try using a wax type paste - rather than the more durable spar varnish. It doesn't protect the wood as much, but I think it darkens the wood much less than a liquid type finish. I finished a hemlock table with this wax paste and the color didn't change much and stayed quite light. Maybe it doesn't react with the chemicals in the wood as much because it's more of a surface coating than a cell penetrating sort of thing. It probably wont last as long as the spar varnish, but it is pretty easy and non-messy to buff on again.