I am not a fan of Minwax Gel Stain. It has a tendency to cover the character of the natural grain. It can be put on too heavily and become more like paint than a true stain. I only used the Minwax gel stain once and I deplored the results so much so, that I stripped it off and started over. Apparently it is a combination of some sort of varnish and stain.
I prefer any brand of liquid OIL stain directly against the bare wood which has already been grain filled.
For finish coat, I have been using Sherwood Pre-catalized lacquer from Sherwin Williams. It is a true commercial/industrial type coating. It's available in 4 levels of sheen from gloss to a dull mat. Comes in Gallons and 5 gallon sizes. Link below will take you to a SW Pdf of the product.
http://www.paintdocs.com/docs/webPDF...&prodno=T77C35
I no longer use "varnish" for anything except when I re-finish hardwood floors.
You will need compressed air spray equipment to spray the Pre-cat. Since I started using the Sherwood Pre-cat, I have completely abandoned all other finishing lacquers and varnishes. And I very rarely use shellac any more because it spoils and always has to be made up fresh. The Sherwood Pre-cat also has a shelf life of only 6 months after the catalyst is added. However, you can ask the people at the Sherwin Williams store to give you the UN-catylized components and mix small batches when you are ready to do some spraying. That way you add catalyst to only enough to do the job at hand, and keep the UN-catalized material on the shelf for future use.
The Sherwood Pre-cat lacquer sets up in about 15 minutes. It is very easy to spray, more so than even conventional nitro-cellulose, or acrylic lacquer. Even an amateur like me can get professional results that look as good as if it came from a professional furniture factory.
I start by wiping down the cabinet with lacquer thinner. If the old finish is not too terrible, and I think it can be salvaged without an entire striping, I proceed as follows. After the wipe down with lacquer thinner, I locate any scratches that need touching up with stain. After staining the defects (where necessary) I take come Sherwood Pre-cat, and using an appropriate artists brush I paint on several coats of lacquer on the scratches to seal the wood where the old lacquer was scratched off. 24 hours later I wet sand with 220 to level the lacquer in the areas where I did the touch up. Then I lightly power sand the entire cabinet with 180 to scuff up the surface for good adhesion of the new finish. Wipe down the cabinet after sanding with an automotive type "pre-cleaner" to make sure all the old wax and silicone's are removed so you don't get "fish eyes' when you spray.
Then I spray 2 coats of Sherwood Pre-cat. 24 hours later I wet sand again to flatten out any dust particles that landed in the wet lacquer. And finally I give it one last coat of Sherwood Pre-cat. The results will look like it just came from the factory.