Pine is full of pitch (rosin or tar) and stain alone will never adhere to these areas.

General Finishes Gel Stain on knotty pine.
 

To fix, sand the table lightly with 120-grit sandpaper and restain the table. To improve adherence of the stain, mix 2 parts Gel Stain with one part Gel Satin Topcoat. Apply as many coats of the mix as needed to obtain the desired color, allowing 24-hour dry time between coats.

Note: The stain may never adhere well to the knots because they are too dense to hold a stain. You can try dry brushing the knots with the stain to deepen the color and the protecting with topcoat.

Possibly - it will depend on the quality of the stripping and sanding.

If done correctly, and all of the existing finish is removed, the stain will penetrate the same as on raw wood.

If the sanding and stripping are incomplete, the grain and pores of the surface are sealed more, and will not accept stain as easily. More stain may be needed to accomplish the same color as on original raw wood, and longer dry times will be required, especially for thick stains, such as General Finishes Gel Stain.

You can use any of our topcoats.

Water-based products include General Finishes High Performance or General Finishes Flat Out Flat.

Oil-based products include General Finishes Gel Topcoat or General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. Gel Topcoat is thick, while Arm-R-Seal is much thinner, and is easier to apply large projects.

Always allow 72-hour dry time when applying water-based products over oil-based products.

Find more information about Oil Based Gel Stains here.

Yes, each layer will darken your project even more. You can also start with a lighter color Gel Stain and layer on darker colors.

Yes - this is not a good place to take shortcuts. GF Gel Stain gets its deep rich hue from a large number of colorants. Seal the stain with a topcoat before applying glaze to prevent "color pull."

The glaze will also glide more easily over the surface after topcoat is applied, allowing you greater control of how much color you want to use. Be sure to wait 72 hours when applying water-based finishes over oil-based finishes.

Here is a sample finish schedule:

1. Prep sand and clean
2. Apply stain
3. Apply a layer of topcoat to prevent color bleed thru and make glazing easier
4. Apply Glaze Effects
5. Apply 2-3 coats of topcoat to protect the entire project