uhh pictures woulda been nice.

I say use a nice 13 ply birch, and leave the edge exposed for the plywood. Wrap the base 2x8 in the same ply and finish it all with a nice waterbased polyurethane. Minwax makes one that I use all the time, I love it. Total cost will be under $200 easy, and it will look sweet.

Well your best bet is buying a nice oak or maple ply that has a single sheet of wood face. It could be as much as 3 times the cost of a pressed ply but worth it. Since you are looking at $150 to build this bed from the thousands if you bought one, the upgrade in materials could be worth it.It would be easy to stain or paint in any finish. You could even get fancy and fabric cover the frame for a contemporary design. You want to avoid the pressed ply if you intend on showing the ply in your design. This cannot be easily covered by any finish except the fabric. The design above hides the ply unless you lift the mattress off the bed, so it could be left un-treated as long as the wooden framework was finished.

Vintage Swank
www.vintageswank.com

Any suggestions for a good finish for plywood?