Ok...some thoughts....first, are you going to put any kind of border around the inserts or any text at all on the PF?

I would think a stain would be the best bet for the wood, followed by a sand with 400-600 grit then use spraymax clear coat. If you stain, I would think you would want to apply before the inserts go in (thinking a hand rubbed stain).

Are you looking for high gloss or a more muted finish?

Hmmmm...another good question. If your cutting process is going to produce really clean cuts (e.g. a CNC-type setup), I might stain prior to cutting - this would keep stain from running down into the cutouts. Otherwise I would probably stain after cutting. I am really not sure how the factories did it/do it now...screened PFs before cutting or after? You may have to do some touchup around the cutouts either way.

You might could get away with just a clear-coat application to the bare wood (prepped of course) depending on the look you want (I did not mean to imply you should do something funky stain wise in the first post - like a mahogany or cherry...just thinking about more of a natural that would bring out the woodgrain). I didnt know if you were looking for a "Whitewood" type of finish or something darker/bolder.

If you are using standard inserts, you might could find a decal set for an established game that uses the same inserts and then cut out and use only the borders. I am working on a Taxi right now that I did this on - worked fine after clearing and smoothing everything down. Printing your own is certainly an option. Multiple coats of clear with sanding in between will help smooth everything down, and since you are custom sutting and setting inserts, you could also set them slightly under the PF surface to give the decal a place to sit inside of the cut.

BTW - I would prime the back in gray or white just to seal the wood...

less than an hour between coats, definitely pushing-rushing it. for that I'd maybe look to spraying (or brushing) magnalaq dries and hardens very quickly so you can build it thick, with some sanding between every couple coats. it'll give a very smooth thick tough surface same day, if its a 16hr ALL DAY going at it, next day finish sanding and wax-polish a day after that. pretty good stuff for a rush-job and getting good results, but it sure isnt cheap!

a couple coats magnalaq, sand, add decals and 4-5 coats (spraying), sand, more coats more sanding...
the stuff likes air and warmth so you can start sanding in about 1/2 hr after applying 3 coats 5-6 minutes apart if its warm and dry with a low speed fan over it.