All these ideas are good. Another technique that works is dry-brushing. Start by painting the area in question a light brown or beige, and let it dry. Then dip the brush in a darker brown, and work most of the color out on a scrap of paper. Stroke the surface gently in the direction the wood grain would be running. The result, with a little practice, will be a subtle effect that looks remarkably like wood grain. You can make it even better by adding a third color.
Every modeler has his/her favorite brand of paint, and you should use whatever one works best for you. I like acrylics; my favorite brand is PolyScale. One of the fringe benefits of the recent boom in aircraft and armor modeling has been the availability of hobby paints in a previously-unknown variety of browns and beiges. If you have access to a good hobby shop, take a look at the PolyScale and Testor's ranges of camouflage colors - and, for that matter, railroad colors. Ignore the names of the colors ("Panzer Yellow," "French Airforce Chocolat," "Union Pacific Brown," etc.) and think of them in terms of how much they look like wood. The more different shades, the more like wood the model will look.
Brush selection is important. The art supply sections of hobby and craft stores these days sell wonderful, reasonably priced synthetic brushes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. For large areas I like soft, flat brushes; either the gold bristles or the white ones seem to work fine. For details, of course, you want several round brushes. Don't get hung up on the numbering system. What's most important is how sharp the point of the brush is, and how it maintains its shape.
Hope I haven't insulted anybody's intelligence. As is obvious by now, this is a topic I like. Good luck.
Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.