I am looking for someone who has experience working with different types of wood to give me some advice. I am about to pull my hair out because I cannot figure out what the problem is. I started staining my white oak treads and noticed splotchiness and inconsistencies with how they were taking the stain. After doing some research, I discovered that I should have used wood conditioning primer. I sanded the steps, primed, and then stained again. Things were looking great until the 2nd coat of stain when these splotches showed up. It looks like someone bunched up a garbage bag and dabbed it on the steps. NO ONE has gone up these steps since the first coat was applied. I was going to sand them down...again, but I don't want to waste time doing that if it is going to have the same results after hours of redoing it. My question is, has anyone seen this before and what can I do about it if it is in the wood itself? Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!