Thanks very much for all your responses. I am applying Georgian Cherry. I will start over, and strip the paint off this evening. I plan to use a product as the CitriStrip - http://www.homedepot.com/p/Citristrip-1-2-gal-Safer-Paint-and-Varnish-Stripping-Gel-HCG73803T/100141801 Do you recommend it? Do I always have to wipe the Gel stain off or can I paint with a foam brush and leave it on? Thanks - Oyii

navi_jen, sorry for the late reply, as I just found this thread again. I'm sorry to say I didn't take a picture of the Brown Mahogany. When the second coat went bad (basically randomly lifted off portions of the first coat, exposing the original stain), I was too mad to take photos. I wish I had, because it would have been more useful trying to figure out what went wrong. The attached photo is one of my favorites in Houzz. My desk wasn't quarter-sawn oak, but the color from the Brown Mahogany was reminiscent of this wood. I regret applying the first coat with a sock, even though everyone raves about it. I think it went on too thick and there were definitely streaks from the sock's ribs. Maybe I didn't wipe it off well enough or wait long enough between coats. Anyway, by the time I came up for air, I had stripped and sanded the desk down to bare wood. I called General Finishes and a nice man told me that since I was at bare wood, he would stain it the conventional way. That's what he would do. So I did and I'm a happy camper. However, the color isn't as nice as the gel stain Brown Mahogany. It's a mid brown, but definitely not java. Here is a link that might be useful: [color similar to GF brown mahogany[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/master-suite-bath-traditional-bathroom-seattle-phvw-vp~302707)

It loos as though it is wiped off very unevenly, leaving streaks that will be very visible when finished, as well as deposits of materials in the corners. With these products you pretty much want to wipe off everything that has not thoroughly soaked into the wood. Once you've gotten down to the stage in your picture use a clean soft rag (think old T-shirt material) to buff off the remaining streaks, and to get the stain out of the corners, unless that is an "antique look" that you're going for (something extremely difficult to accomplish well without a lot of practice and experience, so I wouldn't try it). This thorough wipe-off can sometimes have the unfortunate effect of differential capture of different components of the stain, resulting in unexpected color results. It's critical to test any stain/finish by completely finishing a test piece of the same material (say the back side of a seldom-used door in this case) to assess the outcome. That means use the same sanding regime, stain application and finish, in the same number of coats, with the same between coat treatment. Stained wood can change color a lot when finish is applied. Commercial cabinet finishers typically spray a color or stain layer on and do not wipe anything off, allowing them to achieve better color uniformity and reproducibility, albeit at a cost to the clarity of the finish.

I would not use the minwax gel stain (sorry dbfirewife) to do this job. The General Finish brand works wonderfully. Have you seen Celticmoon's detailed instructions? You can find them over on Kitchen forum under Sticky or under New to Kitchens thread. I have also found that the Old Masters brand works great too. Not exactly sure what would happen with the filler, but will you be putting in new hardware? Would the old hole be covered by the new hardware (ie, a handle that spans across the place where the hole for the old knob was?) If so, I'm sure it will do a very good job so you don't even notice the old hole. My biggest piece of advice is--you must let it dry completely between coats. Absolutely no "almost dry" . And depending on the look you are going for, you can just use the gel stain as a paint, and you don't have to wipe it off, just let it dry. The first coat or two will not be what you are looking for, don't despair, keep going.