As a cabinet maker for some 40 years, if I have no other choices,
I try not to use the words "poplar" and "furniture" in the same
sentence!  Poplar moves too much.  Having said that, sometimes we
make mantle parts out of poplar.

My finisher, who's been doing it longer than I am alive (almost), has
a trick that works great.  He mixes a glue size of water and yellow
glue, and dumps some dye into the mix.  Of course, the dye color we
use depends on the color we are trying to acquire.

After it dries, we sand it with 320 or 280 grit sandpaper.  Then we
stain it, or glaze it since the stain is basically laying on top of
the size, and not really soaking into the wood itself.  After it dries,
we clear coat with the lacquer.  There are some good water-based clear
finishes now out on the market if going "green" is your thing.

H. Jensen
Oceanside, New York