Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - MAPLE WOOD

I have stained with minwax gel stain. I have now applied three coats of wipe on poly satin sheen. When I went to sand (320 grit) after my first coat of poly, I believe some of the stain came off. Then I applied my second coat, tried to sand oh so careful. Then I applied my third coat. The finish looks so scratchy, etc. What am I doing wrong. I have never had this problem on oak wood. HELP!!!! It reminds me of someone that cleaned a window and didn't do a very good job.

Silly:

Oak has a much different texture than maple, which is inherently very smooth. You may be noticing something that has been in all the finishes, but just didn't show up as dramatically in oak.

What grit sandpaper are you using? For the initial sanding, I use 240 wet/dry, then move progressively finer. 400 grit after the second coat and 600 grit after the third.

By the way, you're perfectly justified in being careful with the sanding - wipe on finishes leave a much thinner film on the wood than brush on.

George, I have been using 320 grit between coats. I have been scared to death to hardly sand/touch it after what happened on the first coat. If I would 320 grit wet/dry sand it now, would that work? Also, I have never done wet/dry, so I need just a little instruction. I was planning on doing one more coat of wipe on poly since that would make 4. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks for your quick response.