Our kitchern has custom, built in place oak cabinets from early '80s. They are galley style with layout that includes 45deg angles . To save money, I am taking oak doors and drawer fronts off and making cherry shaker style (and replacing drawer boxes/slides). We are also using PSA to resurface the oak frames. I would like a durable natural look for the cherry. I have been looking at options for top coating (lacquer, acryllic, oil based poly). I'd prefer not to invest/setup a sprayer. And I know oil based can yellow while water based acrylic is harder to work with using brush. Any recommendations? Also should we get the kitchen done (PSA on frames, hang doors, install drawer boxes/fronts) and just topcoat everything in place (3-4 coats) over a few days?

Thanks!