I don’t stain! For most projects, I use hardwoods. I pick hardwoods that have grain that will pop when I apply oil. For portraits, I use BB without stain. I will either us a hardwood veneer plywood or a painted BB backer. If i paint the backer, I use a flat spray paint. I’ll paint the backer at least a week before I mount it to let the paint cure. Then once cured, I will glue the backer to the portrait with Aleen’s tacky glue. I do the same when I use hardwoods. After the glue is dry, I soak the items in my 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits. Then after the oil dries, I’ll top coat the item with Deft semi gloss spray lacquer. Occasionally, I’ll stain a backer using the same process.