Advice on sanding, and on masking stain

Hi all,

Two questions:

1) Do I have to sand to the smoothest finish before I stain bare timber (birch ply) and then again afterwards, or just 'good enough' before the stain?

2) If I mask areas of the timber with painters tape (and push it down really firmly along the edges) will stain bleed below the tape or will I get a nice straight line?

Thanks!
Peter

All right, I tried this on a scrap piece (of thin birch ply). I sanded it to a very smooth finish, then masked it with painters tape - pressing it down really tightly along the edge. I then rubbed the stain in (Wattle colourwood pigmented stain) with a cloth as per instructions. An hour later I removed the tape and the line was nice and straight with no bleed!

So, at least this combination works ok with no bleeding: Birch ply + smooth sanding + painters tape + Wattle pigmented stain.