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What do you all normally do to treat the edges of pre-finished Maple plywood used in cabinets anywhere the edge will be visible?  I know there are various options (heat activated veneer, using solid hardwood) for the edge treatment, but what about finish? Nothing will match that factory finished face of the plywood.. Do you just use a little poly on the edge and call it a day?

thanks

I just did this in my recent project.

The edges are prefinished iron-on tape (I don't remember if it's maple or birch, but at that thickness it really doesn't matter). Also, the finish is pretty close. The prefinished plywood is definitely glossier than the prefinished edging, but I'm not sure that matters.

What I did was iron on the edging and then trim it with a very slight chamfer. This provides a transition that not only cleans up the edge but also helps to obscure any differences in finish between the top and the edge.

I will very likely use this method going forward as it was easy and turned out quite well. much easier than hardwood edging (which doesn't solve the finish problem either).

I didn't realize they made a prefinished iron on tape.. nice..
though I'm thinking I'd prefer 1/8" solid wood in areas where dings/high traffic might cause edge damage.

I used Verathane's triple thick for drawers before I got my HVLP sprayer.  It rarely drips or sags and one coat seems fine with this stuff.  For tedius detail work, that one coat is a blessing.  It is available in various sheens.  I think I used satin.  I don't recall. For drawers, I paid little attention.

i use 1.5mm maple edge banding, applied with the Conturo, and Odie's Oil as the finish.  it's easy to apply and blends in perfectly.