It's hard to say any finish will prevent "dings and such". The Liquitex product you mention is made just for this, you may be best going with it. But if you choose to use a clear water borne finish, look for one that doesn't have any tint. They will dry water clear, and stay that way. The HP product you mention is., I think, a water clear product. As for the complaints of it "yellowing", I was searching for those and found these comments by GF (on their site):
"As is true of most "water-white" topcoats, General Finishes water-based topcoats dry clear over non-reactive substrates, such as plastic or metal, except
General Finishes Enduro-Var, which ambers. When white paint sealed with a water-white topcoat is applied to something as unpredictable as wood, all bets are off and the reason for yellowing is often unknown. It can be caused by topcoat activating tannins in raw wood or aniline dyes, stains, or contaminants in a pre-existing finish. This is most evident when using BRIGHT WHITE paint and most prevalent in sculpted details of furniture where the topcoat can collect, intensifying color change to an unacceptable level.
There is no reliable way to predict whether yellowing will occur and to what degree. Every existing finish is different and we rarely know the finishing provenance on an existing piece."
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
