I achieved an excellent result with six coats of brushing lacquer followed by a top coat of spray lacquer. But I couldn't leave it alone and finished the front and top surfaces to this level of gloss:
It's an impressive finish, but it looks unnatural. It would have been better to leave it at six-plus-one coats. Brushing lacquer is much cheaper than spray, but I had to wait 8 to 12 hours between coats. With spray it can be recoated in less than an hour.