You should have been able to get away without staining the stock. Unless you were trying to darken it to match the forend.
If you are using Permalyn sealer. Just keep applying it with a brush letting it soak in and then wiping off the excess. I am not sure how many coats you put on already. It will start to build and fill the grain. You can also actually sand the stock with the wet sealer on it. Use very fine wet sandpaper for this. It is a bit messy, but it does help fill the grain.
What do you intend to use for a final finish?
You should hand apply the finish and then wipe back the excess and continue to do this until the grain is filled. You can also wetsand back the finish with water ever couple of coats. When using Truoil, I have found that wetsanding every 4 coats or so works well and it takes 12 coats or so to fully fill and get a smooth finish.
A fully filled and smooth finish is the halmark of a good stock. But some visable grain can be ok if it is a more antique look that you are going for.
It helps to do your coats one on top of the other lets say every few hours or whenever the stock can be handled. That way the coats bond together well. Or you can lightly steel wool between coats.
If you apply the finish straight and let it cure, you will be left with a gloss finish, if you wipe it back when still wet you will be left with a satin to semi-gloss finish. I have foudn that wiping back works best. The hardest part is getting the finish to not look streaky.
You can also buff down a gloss finish with rottenstone or that birchwood casey conditioner works well.
Basically, it is hard to screw up. It just takes a lot of time to get a good finish. I think it is best summed up by saying that when you think you might be done, put a few more coats on.
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B. Dudley
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