Dealing with Bleed Through when Painting

How do you deal with bleed through when you are painting? You may be asking what is bleed through? First, bleed through happens when you paint wood that is dark and you notice splotchy spots that tend to appear shortly after the first coat. I've had bleed through with Mahogany and Cherry woods. This can happen for several reasons - old varnish, the wood tannin's,or grease or oils that were trapped. I think that when you apply the paint and it begins to dry it pulls them to the surface. Here are a few tips on what I do to deter this problem.
I clean the wood surface with Simple Green and let it dry for about an hour so that it is completely dry. You can take a poly such as Miss Mustard Seed's Tough Coat, CeCe Caldwell's Endurance, or a spray on Poly that you can find at a hardware store. Are you guaranteed that it will not bleed when you do this? Personally, I have had success doing this step but some of my customers have still had bleed through occasionally. SO if you still have bleed through after doing this step then your piece is really a "free" bleeder so you are going to need something stronger such as Kiltz Oil Base Primer. 
What if you did all of the above and you still have bleed through? This is the worst case scenario and honestly I have never had it happen to me but there is always a first time. I would apply a tinted glaze to the piece to cover the spots. I love glazes and if you haven't tried them I recommend that you try some.  
After you have prepped your wood you are ready to begin painting. With milk paint or chalk+clay paints you will need two coats of paint and then your choice of finishes. Do you prefer a brush on poly or a hand waxed finish? Both are a matter of choice and what YOU like best! And yes there are brush on finishes in both lines of paints. Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint has the new Tough Coat that is a clear non yellowing poly. This is a great brush on finish that is easy to use. 
CeCe Caldwell's Chalk + Clay Paints have three brush on finishes - Endurance, Satin Finish, and the new Flat Matt. All great finishes for your project!

Endurance Finish

Tough Coat Finish