Brush coats nder spray lacquer

After a fair bit of experimentation,and a lot of advice from people on this forum, Im now doing a reasonable job of spraying lacquer. What I've settled on is one coat of Wattyl Rediseal (thinned 50/50), sand back, followed by 2 coats of Wattyl Stylwood (thinned 20/80, followed by straight).
Now i'm happy with the process I have come to the conclusion that the final result is not as nice as brush-applied finishes. Its like the timber has lost its inner beauty, its natural glow. I'm tentatively thinking that this is beause the spray finish sits on top of the wood, rather then penetrating deep into it like would happen under the scrubbing motion of a brush or WOP - hence loosing any 3d effect.

Do others notice this? How do you get around it ?

Cheers
Arron

How do you apply it by brush, do you thin it down also? I've often brushed on and sanded a couple of coats and then sprayed to get a nice finish but never really done a comparison. I would have thought the first coat would have penetrated into the wood.:D:D

SB