I'm tackling my first cabinet restoration, a JM. I read about Robert Winter's approach and I liked it a lot...except for the cure time for oil-based poly. I'm hosting a tournament on Saturday, and I want to have this beast back together. So I used water-based sealer and poly. Here are all the steps...it was still a 4-day job:

1. Stripped the cab of everything but the ground braid
2. Sanded off the artwork with 80 grit and a Bosch sander
3. Used Bondo to make corners perfect and fill in divots
4. Sanded with 150 grit
5. Wiped down cab with a damp rag, let dry
6. Sanded with 220 grit
7. Brushed on Sanding Sealer, let dry for an hour
8. Sanded with 220 again
9. Brushed on Varathane triple-thick poly
10. Sanded with 220 again

The cab feels really smooth now. Am I ready to install decals? Or did I make a mistake going with water-based poly?

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Here's a good video on the technique:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/install-decals-dry-video-this-is-how-i-do-them#post-2394661