artisticpainting,
your project sounds like one of my daily routines.i stain and finish between 4-10 luan doors,5 days a week.
i'm sure there are a few different approaches so without debate here are the steps that are taken.
(1)inspect doors for cleanliness,clean as needed.
(2)stain doors (4 sides only.
(3)get a coffee
(4)apply first coat of clear.i use a 6" x 1/2" mini roller(short handle) and a 2"liner polynylon brush.i first
roll the bottom and top for door sealing purposes and then the hinge and latch edges.when i get to the
door faces i load up my roller with polyacrylic and proceed to roll out the top quadrent and immediately
back brush what was just applied.i then spin the door from 12 o'clock to 6 o'clock so the top is now the bottom.i then roll out the middle, then back brush.then a half a rollerload finishes off the top which has
to be backbrushed too.repeat this process for the other face.
(5)follow pretty much the same steps in (4)only this time you skip over the top and bottom as they are
already done.
my doors are always consisent in quality and finish.i think this is what you are looking for.