Wood staining questions

wengang1

first staining project.
I built a crib out of white oak.

I'm using Minwax oil stain.

Several people told me that I didn't need the pre-stain because the wood is white oak. So I didn't use it.

I sanded thoroughly (so i thought) with 220 all over, and applied the first layer of stain. When i wiped the stain off, there were places on the wood where the stain didn't take. In some cases, I'm sure it was glue residue. I sanded a lot, but the spots are along the glued seams, so that seems obvious. A few others are in the field of the wood (mainly the plywood parts, not the hardwood parts). And there are a few tiny spots throughout where no stain go into the areas with deeper grain.

I'm about to apply a second coat, and I'm not sure how to proceed.
The stain instructions say not to sand between coats.

Should I go over the bad spots with 220 again before the second coat? Should I try to "spot stain" the bad areas before putting on a second coat?
Should I sand the entire thing with a finer grit to keep it uniform?
or quite simply, what should I do to get a more uniform stain?
(The stain is not "splotchy", it's just these spots that didn't take stain.)

FTF-Tom

It sounds like you used only 220. I'd recommend sanding it good with a 100 grit, then 150, then 220. You always want to work into your fine sanding.

wengang1

You're right. That's what I did.

But I've already stained the whole project with one coat.
So the question is, should I sand the entire project again or just the trouble spots, and should I go down to a coarser grit and then 220 again?
There's no way I can sand back down below the stain at this point. I just don't know what the effects of sanding the stain with 220 will be.