One nice thing about Maple is that it is a fairly closed pore wood. This makes it easy to paint and or stain with very clean results. Being as I use it on a number of guitar tops and bodies I usually will sand it smooth, hit it with a sanding sealer, sand it smooth again and then spray it with nitrocellulose lacquer.
However, what to paint it with and what color depend on how you are planning on using the wood. I have had great luck with pretty much every color including black and of course clear. I have also dyed patterned maples and then covered then in clear.