I'm building a contemporary style fireplace mantel of quilted maple and wenge. You can see photos of the process and, eventually, the finished product at
The mantel will be mounted over a gas-burning fireplace. It gets HOT, especially at the center, where it projects farthest from the wall and is directly over the fireplace. After the fireplace has been running for a few hours, I can put my hand on the bottom face of the mantel and hold it there. Its not comfortable to do that, but I don't get burned. That's the best I can do as far as what temperature the mantel gets up to. And, of course, we don't run the fireplace constantly, so there will be thermal cycling. I have very little experience with finishes, and none for high temperature applications.
So the question. What clear finish will not color the wood, can be finished gloss or satin, will require little or no maintenance, and will tolerate the high temperatures and thermal cycling that will occur?
TIA.