We build custom kitchen, bath and rec room cabinets and restore classic mahogany boats. My wife is the expert on the cabinet finishing and I do the boat finishes. We both do the woodworking on the cabinets and boats.
Since shellac is not a readily available as it once was she had gone to sanding sealer. It is easy to use, readily available and does a good job. I also use sanding sealer on the boats. I apply two coats, sanding in between.
We have perfected our process where we can turn out good results with reliability. I think the most important point is to find a process that you can make work, then stick with it and improve on it. By making changes to many products you never get good at any one of them.
Don Dando