Originally Posted by redbugsullivan
Very helpful! I'll check it out on the New Home cabinet being fixed for my MIL. It is beautiful but was left in the rain at some point. The lacquer thinner allowed enough of the finish to come off that I could see the patent date! I thought some fool had painted a section dark brown.
Usually if the finish is dark brown it is shellac. The lacquer thinner just may have cleaned some dirt a grime off. Do the test and use what the test indicates. I have a tut on cleaning and old finish and some solutions you can make to clean the finish. Look in the search for cleaning sewing machine cabinets and you will find two solutions to make to clean them with. This may be easier than using the solvent method. Glenn