Chestnut’s can be difficult to tell from Oak. It has a similar colour , maybe due to the Tannin content (like Oak) but when it dries it’s quite different. You wouldn’t normally have trouble telling the two apart.

The colour is creamier than Oak, with sometimes contrasting brown streaks that you wouldn’t see in Oak and sometimes with some strong yellow colour.

However the grain pattern is actually a real feature, it’s open, fairly coarse, a bit like Ash or Elm in that way. 

Chestnut will take finishes as any other hardwood, and turns well.