need help adding clear finish to soft wood

I would use sanding sealer first to prevent blotching on the pine and cedar,
as some clear have an amber hue and your work might blotch.

Other’s will have great comments as well.

I just got finished with using arm-a-seal and loved it on ambrosia maple. General finishes also puts out seal-a-cell which is a sanding sealer. I dont have any direct experience with it but i can vouch for the arm-a-seal. I brused on 2 coats and wiped on another 2 coats.

-- "there aren’t many hand tools as awe-inspiring as the #8 jointer. I mean, it just reeks of cast iron heft and hubris" - Smitty

I use Minwax Laquer on cedar with fantastic luck. I like the spray stuff. Several coats later, it is quite glossy and wonderful.

-- Lis - Michigan - http://www.missmooseart.com - https://www.etsy.com/people/lisbokt

I make a lot of cedar boxes and I use brush on Deft Sanding sealer then Deft brushing Lacquer (Sanding after each coat). I then spray on a clear gloss acrylic finish.

-- In God We Trust

It depends on what you are making and how durable of a finish. I would recommend Waterlox. That stuff is amazing. Natural Danish oil is also a good choice and both are very easy to apply. Both are “in the wood” finishes, so you don’t get the plastic look of straight ploy. Follow either of those with a nice buffing with steel wool or some 800+ grit sandpaper, then a coat or two of furniture grade paste wax (not a silicone based automotive wax) and you will have an amazing finish.

If you need more protection and want to follow up with a coat or two of poly before the wax, general finishes Arm-R-Seal that Chris recommended is the way to go

-- http://www.etsy.com/shop/KandJWoodCrafts