Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone.
I'm using a Canon SD1100IS and I did use it's built in capability set the white balance -not the auto-adjust, it has a feature to set it based on current lighting using a white background - it was very yellow before that - actually I didn't have this problem at all when I used its flash, it was only when I tried to light things up myself. But Marc's right, I was very surprised how blue it came out given how white my scene was! I need to figure out what the best bulbs to use are so that I've got less of a blue light problem in the first place. I've got a combination of 2 35 GU-10 halogen lamps and then just a couple of utility lights with regular bulbs - I put white t-shirt material over the aluminum shade to avoid glare - but the bulb was one of those clear ones and it definitely has a bluish tint to it. When I have time I'll troll through the photo forum to see what I can find, but if anybody wants to offer a quick suggestion I'd appreciate it.
Anyway, finish is about 10-12 coats of thin CA, MM to 12000, 2 final passes with Kit scratch remover from Walmart. Kinda like the fish that got away, but gloss is much better in person than in my photos...
And I agree, Ken - I think the two-tone amboyna is really nice!