Highly figured wood sculpture

Answer 1

 Not sure if this will help but, I also carve and make guitars from highly figured woods. Instead of sanding to 400 before staining, I stop at say 120 grit, and then stain deeply with a very dark brown or black. Then I very carefully (and delicately) sand with 200 grit to remove high spots. This will accentuate the grains. With guitar tops, I will often stain again with a color stain, and then clear coat. Hope this helps