a lot of your success will depend on wood prep. Sand it smooth as glass, use ascending grits, starting w/ around 200 and work up to 500-600 or higher if you can get it. That's a big part of job. Next step is to put a thin coat of good filler. here's a link to a very good one below. You put this on thin, dries quickly, then sand it again with a fine grit. This is the stuff that really solves the "blotchies"! Then you can put an oil finish on it, or get a good wax (my preference). Store below has a lot of better waxes, oils, etc. You can probably find 'em locally if you know what you're looking for.