After seeing it without the pg if it were mine I would either plug the holes or use a clear pg. Plugging would be my first choice if it could be done good enough to hide the holes. Otherwise I would put a clear guard on it.
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It's a unique piece, very few of them are out there and I would keep it as is and play it without any problems at ALL.
But I can also understand that not everyone is as weird as I am.
for me it would be a perfect candidate for a custom refinish
but we all have different taste so perhaps you want to keep it
MrM