Initially sanded everything with a power sander; pre-stain sealer; several coats of Minwax Sedona Red, then semi gloss poly sanded between coats (3 coats). In retrospect, I should ahve used steel wool between coats, but I know some people are down on using streel wool because little bits of the steel can get imbeded in the wood and rust over time.
19 years ago when I installed new french doors in my home and did all the finishing work myself, I used steel wool between poly coats, and there's no rust at all to this day, and the finish is buttery smooth
I seem to recall Doc is a fan of Aniline dye- I've never worked with that but I know it has many fans.
Crack/Speedball, SEX 2.1/C4S, Bryston BHA-1
Sennheiser HD600/Cardas cable, Beyerdynamic T1 2nd Gen, Hifimam HE560/Hifiman balanced cable