That a really good first job. As the wood is stabilised you don't need to worry about sealing them so any kind of finish that will bring the grain out should be OK. Ideally it should have been done before pinning so that you can access both sides of each scale easily. It's maybe too late to consider CA as it requires a lot of rubbing down - maybe oil is the answer - you can get between the scales with a cloth and buff them. If you have some spare wood, experiment with a few finishes and see what you like.

By the way, if you intend to keep the scales together when polishing (as opposed to unpinning), make sure you insert something between then as a support otherwise you might crack them again.