I'm building a S&G Solace 16 LT and I pre-stained (walnut) the deck sheer panels before stitching up the deck. When I glued the seams, I missed a few dribbles that dried on the stained panels. When I scraped off the green epoxy, the stain came off too. No sweat, I thought, I'll just re-stain those spots. WRONG. The stain didn't take because (I think) there was still epoxy embedded in the grain. At this point I've sanded with 220 grit (and over sanded) those areas real good but before I apply any new stain I'm asking for advice. I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that when I re-stain, it will be a reasonable match to the original stain. On a test panel I had for the original stain color, I noticed sanding with 150 grit made the new stain come out slightly darker.

Am I heading in the right direction or is this is genuine train wreck? Right now it looks bad. No, it wouldn't even come close to passing the 3 foot rule.

Is there any specific technique for blending in the stain at the edges where it fades back to the original or do you just try to lighten up the application? Also, I don't want to add any extra stain to the previously stained surfaces so I'm thinking I should wipe off the wet stain towards the interior of the newly stained surface so I don't wipe new stain onto the old. Is this right or are there any tips or tricks I should know?

One other thing. The areas that need re-staining are right next to raw plywood so I also need to mask off the adjacent panel that shouldn't get any stain on it. Any tips for this?

Thanks for your help. There's beer and or steaks to anyone who can help me salvage this mess.