furniture refinishing

[Anne Frasier]

okay, this is totally unrelated to writing but i thought we might have some furniture-refinishing experts here and i need help!

the plot: refinish art-deco vanity

wood is something dark with a fine grain. i stripped it and stained it with a red mahogany to bring out the pattern. it looked beautiful. then i put down a coat of waterbased varnish with an expensive, soft brush -- and ugh! streaks. it dried way too quickly, and it was almost like trying to apply nail polish. so i sanded that down and tried another coat. same problem, even worse and now the surface is lighter because it removed some of the stain. i feel i should sand again, but the mahogany will get even lighter and i can't put down another layer of stain over any residual varnish can i? then find another brand of varnish that doesn't dry almost on contact? i really don't want to start over. not going to start over. i'm wondering if there's any kind of product that can go over the varnish to kind of buff and even out the small, duller patches.

[Anne Frasier]

joyce, thanks so much!!! yes, that does help! i was thinking there was something that could be rubbed on! so i'm off to look for minwax poly. i'm hoping i can apply another coat of stain even though 100% of the varnish won't be removed. i'm not going to sand down to the bare wood. i'm guessing i shouldn't stain over a bit of varnish. hmmm. maybe if i sand lightly enough i won't have to restain and can just put down the poly with a rag.