First-Person Narrator

You could just stain it, and that might look fine. To be really sure you get it just right, you could sand it down first, then stain it. Or if the original wood is pretty enough after sanding, you would only need to apply tongue oil to give it some gloss.

At least, this is what my mom discovered when she restored a piano years ago. It had been painted (badly) with black lacquer - turned out to have the most gorgeous coppery red wood underneath.