Easybuilt, where can I find Marsh's Spray Stencil black ink? I am not sure what store here may have it.

Regarding poplar, I have used it twice to carve projects. The first time because I didn't know any better. The second time because I didn't learn from the first time. In both instances I re-did the projects and they turned out much, much better. I won't use poplar again because of all of the aforementioned problems in this thread. I do not like the way it sands and I do not like the final finish compared to other woods I have used. I may use it for other projects, but not carving.