Well, for years now I have and many others painted their D8 wings olive-brown. Hey, it matches the cowling and hoods and it seemed logical.
This subject definitely throws a monkey wrench into the equation. I definitely see the streaking on the wings, but as Lyle suggests, the more you move away from the wing the more it looks solid. Maybe that's how a lot of us went astray. My 1/4 scale wing is covered with the same/similar plywood the originals had, although, thinner. I can test out the stains and post the results. Typically, I paint the wing with a final coat of clear polyurethane, achieving the gloss look. One question would be what about the subwing ? Seems to me once you started staining the wing you would continue onto the subwing. Here's my all olive-green wing...
Great photos Langdon, let us know how to get the stains - Glenn