Acoustic Guitar Construction

I have a maple guitar ready for finish and have decided to try my hand at brushing lacquer. I have been practicing on scrap and feel I have got the hang of it. I do have a few questions however. First, as I stated the soundbody back and sides are maple. I want to stain the maple a light amber, just dark enough to present a distinct difference from the soundboard which I will leave natural. Can someone recommend a brand of stain that works well. I have no experience with stain. Also sould I wipe it on or brush it on? Should it go on before or after the sanding sealer. Since it is maple I did not pore fill. The guitar has been finish sanded to 320 grit. By the way this guitar is a KMG kit. It has a maple neck with walnut laminations. I posted a pix of the neck elsewhere on the forum. It has turned out nice. I will post pix when its completed. I will look forward to any advice regarding the stain and anything else that may help the process. Thanks for taking the time to read this. Jon

I would tint the lacquer -- but make sure you use clear to seal first, like two coats. No different than tinted shellac.

Thanks Ken. Sounds like the best way to do it. This kit is amazing. Its going to look and sound awsome. It also gets alot of cool points. A picture is worth a thousand words and I will get some pix posted when its done. Its a keeper for sure!