Would auto clear coat be a good idea?

I have a piece of wood with a heat transfered graphic on it with a bunch of scratches, I want to put a sorta thick looking coat over it that is clear to preserve it while also minimizing the texture from all the scratches on it. I thought about epoxy but thought it to be too messy and toxic, so i was looking at auto clear coat but don't have a spray gun. So would using a a touch up bottle of auto clear coat and just painting it on work to get the desired results?