I really like to use a product called Diamond Wood Finish. It is made by Flecto Varathane and is water based so it does not have the strong smell of the oil based products. I think it comes in satin, semi-gloss and gloss depending on how shiny of a finish you want. I used it on the last canopy that I built and found it really easy to apply.
Did you use this on the inside as well? Where did you get it?
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Mark...
290g Peninsula Display, 425g total volume. Setup Jan 2013.