For my fellow woodworkers/hobbyists:
A couple of friends bought the Evan Smith Mashup wheels and I offered to do some work on the boxes.
The boxes are made of some cheap scrap wood that's so soft that I could easily poke holes in the wood with a toothpick. That doesn't mean it's not a good project though.
Sanded up to 220 grit, applied a dark brown wood stain, applied three layers of gloss spar urethane, gently wet sanded with 400 grit to remove any remaining residue, and applied a wax finish for a bit of extra protection.
Final:
I wish it wasn't so cloudy right now since the color pops out when the sun's shining on it, kinda like the 2nd and 3rd picture.
It was also difficult to work on the inside of the box and the crevice where the lid slides in, so I mainly focused on the exterior of the box. Someone with more experience with me may have a workaround for that though.