Mostly for the novice finisher

Here's an example of what 3 coats of regular, hardware store variety, unadulterated orange shellac can do. Shellac has been used for many years as a finish but has been replaced by more durable topcoats. The good properties of shellac are numerous including ease of application, repair ease, and color. It makes a great "wash coat" (diluted with alcohol) to prevent other finishes from bleeding or blotching.
These are just a bunch of old drawers a customer wanted to spruce up. The original finish was orange shellac and that is what I applied again, after sanding all the old off to bare wood. They are just cheap ol' cedar but they have come alive again.
Orange or other colors of shellac can make other woods a lot warmer than they are with a just a clear topcoat.
Just thought you'd like to see what took about 1.5 hours of spraying 3 coats.
Before...

After...