This piece had been spray painted white by someone else and it was "ruined". Sat in my shop for a while and this is what I finally came up with!
I took the paint off with a sharp 1.5" chisel, I was not concerned with slight gouges since I wanted a distressed look.
I used a torch and wire brush to achieve the stained look, but used no stain, the wood had a natural look before the torch.
I simply put a clear semi gloss polyurethane finish on top.
I left the interior natural, and I did use sanding on the inside and underside.
Sorry, no before pictures, I always forget to take those.