Hey sweatercuff, you mind if i steal that stain idea? i have a board i wanna try that with.
sure man, s'not like i invented it!
some advice: first off, make sure you take off whatever clearcoat is on the board (sand down the whole thing with atleast a 180 or so grit sandpaper), otherwise you won't properly penetrate (heh heh) the wood (heh heh) and everything will kinda just sit on top and be blobby.
then go thin with the coats, don't do more than 2, and a thin layer of clearcoat ( Clear spraypaint. preferably glossy.) to finish. Allow proper curing time (stains can take a while, I give mine at least a full day just to be sure)
and after its fully set, make sure the the surface isn't too tacky or sticky. if it is, you went too thick. strip and restart.
also, you'll probably notice some stain run down the sidewalls. have a little rag ready to just wipe that up or just around as you go so its even. And if you're doing some specific area, like a masked or stenciled out area, be aware that it'll bleed a little bit under the edges of your mask/tape/whatever unless you are VERY careful near those edges, and use a small brush and apply a very thin amount of stain at a time.
Good luck with it dude! post up some results when you're done.