Pro tip: a finisher in Charlotte told me to stop sanding past 180 on face frames, and my blotching problem went away
I was burning through 220 grit and still getting uneven stain, then he asked what grit I stopped at, said 180 leaves just enough tooth for the dye to grab even, and 2 kitchens later the color is finally consistent, so what grit do you all stop at before stain?