Tech can't read the room like @morgan_butler's family needed.

Remember when we all thought the stain itself was the magic part? I used to skip prep and just slap it on. Then I tried a project on a deck that wasn't ready. The stain peeled in a year. Now I spend twice as long cleaning and sanding than I do actually staining. It's boring but it works.

Totally agree. I once spent a month trying to diagnose a weird noise in my car, buying special tools and everything. Turns out I had a plastic grocery bag stuck to the underside. The fix was literally just pulling it off. Felt like a huge idiot, but it really does show how we skip the obvious stuff.