I like to not expose the ends of plywood. I either keep the ends inside, by design, sometimes 45* deg the outsides or as pat said putting small solid wood to edge band the exposure. If I must treat the edges then I use sanding sealer then polyurethane. An easy idea might be to apply iron on edge banding tape. It comes in many different woods now days and you could match the plywood easily. Then it’s just a matter of applying finish to the whole piece.

CHRIS, Charlottetown PEI Canada. Anytime you can repurpose, reuse, or recycle, everyone wins!