I am trying to stain a maple dresser to match my cabinets. The color is a Java color. I could not find this stain so I went down to Vista Paints and they were able to match the stain. I now have a gallon of Solvent based Graintone plus wiping stain from Valspar. I tried to apply this stain onto soft maple with no success. It comes out light almost faded. I do not have a spray gun and will be wiping on the stain.. The dresser is made from soft maple, maple veneer and maple ply. How can I prepare the wood so it can accept the stain that I bought? Thank you very much