Sapele finishing

One suggestion I would have is shellac. Shellac is a hard finish that protects the wood and it is very easy to repair.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

This weekend David Marks had an episode on finishing which was very instructional. Lacquer and shellac form a hard “shell” around the wood, which varnish and poly get absorbed by the wood. Check it out at diyNetwork.

-- There are three kinds of people... those who can count, and those who can't

i would go with a laquer or shellac. also look into water based finishes. like general finishes polyacrylic. very good finishes. you should check out general finishes line of industrial products to get some ideas.

I do a lot of work with Sapele and finish mostly with tung oils danish oil waterbased varnish or oil based varnish so any of those bearing in mind it’s for a small child I would think hard about what I put on it.Alistair

-- excuse my typing as I have a form of parkinsons disease