Painting - door conundrum

Hello, I recently tok off my front door with the intent of repainting it. The existing paint was badly cracked and curled, so I used Citrustrip to remove it. The paint came away so easily, and the wood looked so nice that I decided to try to clean it to the point where I could coat it with polyurethane.

After I had everything cleaned-up, I used mineral spirits to clean/neutralize the stripper (as per the strippers instructiions), but now, even after several days of drying, the wood remains slightly dark and splotchy in parts, and no amount of sanding seems to help much (sandpaper pads get clogged up very quickly).

I'm not sure how polyurethane will look, or even if it is wise to apply it, but I don't want to paint over the wood that I worked so hard to strip. Did I use too much stripper and allow it to soak in too much? Does anyone have suggestions?

Thanks! Chris

Are you using sanding pads or real sandpaper? I like the pads but sandpaper does a superior job at removing material.

Stripped wood is always harder to stain than new wood. You might be able to pick a stain that will minimize the effect of the dark splotches.

Thanks for your reply Marksr. I am using real sandpaper, and quite aggressively - the wood just seems kind of gummy. I like the idea of using a stain that will work well with the splotches - I will ask about this with my paint supplier. In case it is significant, the wood is oak. - Thanks!