i went to home depot today and got myself some of this bombay mahogany gloss stain with the polyurethane right in it. costed me ten bucks for htis big thing:
here are three coats of this stuff on the prop. i might want to go a little darker, and add another coat. idk...
thanks supercruiser. ive learned quite a bit from this one here. i wish my camera could capture more detail. you would really be able to see it then, but for now im stuck with realitivly poor lighting and an ok camera.