Good morning,
I know this is a rookie question, but I haven't much experience with wood finishing so I'm just biting the bullet and asking for advice. I'm wondering what you all recommend for a finish on my project. I'm looking for a clear, high gloss finish for an arcade cabinet I'm building. It shouldn't really see much abuse since the part that hands will be hitting and sliding across will be covered with a laminated graphic. Essentially, what's in the photo below is what needs to be finished. The outside of the cabinet is Maple ply. I liked the look of the individual layers on the edges for this so I left them naked.
My first thought was just to get some spray polyurethane from Lowe's and use many coats, sanding in between, which is what I've done in the past on an aquarium stand/cabinet. But I figured, since I'm a member of this board it'd be best to get some advice from the experts before diving in to this stage. This piece will be touched a lot more than the last one. I don't have a spray gun so I need to use something in a spray can, or a brush-on finish if necessary. I just want it to look nice and last a good long time in my living room with my kids playing with it.
Any advice you all can offer would be most appreciated.