Circa 1920's Rocker Help Please

[Dominic Carpenter]

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I am restoring an old, roughed-up rocker for a family member. I have replaced some missing and broken pieces (including the added epoxy on the lower leg). I am getting ready to final sand and finish the piece, however, the wood has severe wear and the grain is not real attractive. The previous finish appeared to be some kind of a semi-transparent finish appearing to be paint. I would like to try and maintain some of the original look, but I fear it may be more trouble than it's worth.
Could you provide me with your finish suggestions? Should I just go with a solid acrylic latex finish? Also, which gain/wood filler would you suggest for a long lasting, durable finish? Thanks in advance!

[Conrad Fiore]

Looks like oak. Too bad you didn't scarf in that patch with oak and not filled with epoxy. I would have put an oil or oil/varnish blend wipe on finish. You can still do that but the patch will show up like a sore thumb. You can try to "paint" in a faux grain on top of the patch with colored markers and still use the wipe on oil.