DuMont RA-103 Chatham Cabinet Refinish

[vts1134]

I've started my first cabinet refinish job, it's a DuMont Chatham! Let me give a disclaimer right up front- I have no wood working/refinishing experience at all. I did as much "internet reading" as I could before I started and this weekend while on a visit to the mother in law's home in the country I took the first steps. The cabinet was in pretty poor shape originally, I was not optimistic for a good looking outcome.

I used a chemical stripper with methyl chloride to remove the old finish. The instructions called for applying the stripper, letting it sit for 15 minutes, and then scrape it off with a flat blade putty knife. I found the best results for me was to let the stripper sit and then use a stiff brush to work the finish off and then wipe the "goo" off with a rag.

After I removed as much finish as I could using the stripper I went to work on the cabinet with sand paper. I used 80 grit first to remove whatever leftover finish there was after stripping. I moved to 150 after that to smooth out the now rough surface the 80 left. After the 150 I moved on to 320 to finish. One thing I have read is that I skipped some grits in the progression and I will pick up the intermediate grits before the next cabinet refinish.

Now the cabinet is all stripped, repaired, and sanded. There was one section of the cabinet that I mistakenly blew right through the veneer with the 80 grit but I'll chalk that up to rookie learning experience.
Now on to the solicitation for advice. I was thinking of using CrystaLac Wood Grain Filler to fill the grain. From there instructions I understand that I should stain first. Some other grain fillers say that you should fill first. I'm wondering if any one here has used clear grain and can give advice? Should my steps be: rub stain - grain fill - brush lacquer sanding sealer - spray lacquer? Any help or tips greatly appreciated.