jo_jo wrote:

I tried shellac, and got close to the color I wanted, but it built too
thick of a finish.**I*cut*the*shellac*to*about*a*1*lb*cut,*an d*applied
multiple thin coats, but either didn't get the depth of color or the
finish was too thick and didn't have that hand-rubbed look - it looked
more like a gym floor.

Try a little dye IN the shellac.

--
It's turtles, all the way down