sealer before stain will even out the absorption of the stain. Pine is one of those selective woods where the wood will not give you an even coloring. You can use a colored shellac (i.e. garnet), or a varnish over the stain in an attempt to make the color darker.

First of all MinWax is junk. You won't find any of it in my shop. It seals the wood and no matter how many coats you put on it won't change much from the first coat, the first coat seals the wood.

There is more too getting stain to soak in evenly than just using or not using sealer. Sanding plays a large role in how much stain the wood will absorb and how it will absorb. Most stains are pigmented and the small particles are what gives the color. The finer you go the smaller the nooks and crannies for the pigment to lay in.

Pine is always a problem with even staining (maple and cherry are some others). It has wild grain and some absorbs more that other places. So even sanding and then sealer is needed to get a even color. Dyes tend to do a better job. But if you aren't experienced, do a lot of playing around until you work on something you care about.

Never heard of that product. Ben Moore used to make a 15-minute clear finish, but it did not survive the VOC rules. It was like a synthetic varnish, solvent-based, and very sweet smelling. I don't think you could add oil stain to it, either, like you can to normal oil varnishes. Maybe this is a similar product.

It dried very waxy-feeling, and you could buff it with a steel wool pad or a floor buffer. I used it on my floors, because it could be buffed, scuffed, recoated without sanding. It also said "not for floors" on the label, lol, but here I am 20 years later, it held up fine, if only I could get another couple of gallons I could re-coat.

If off-label uses work for you, then it's all good.

Minwax stain used to have some linseed oil in it, and as we know, that is very slow-curing. If the majority of the chemistry of your finish cures in 15 minutes, and there is oil still on the loose, it could make it very gummy for an extended time. If it seems to have dried hard in a reasonable time, I think you're OK.

Casey

Thanks to all of you for your replies.

I ended up spot sanding the lighter areas and used Minwax stain marker in those areas. Some boards look fine, some don't.