Presuming it's oak, if I wanted to totally strip/refinish it:
denatured alcohol and heavy paper towels, rags, brushes, steel wool to remove the old shellac
0000 steel wool to rub it down smooth
(I would not actually sand anything unless there was a problem with chipping or splintering, or I needed to actually sand off an ink stain or something)
oxalic acid to bleach any blue stains left on oak from water getting through the shellac
Minwax chestnut or red oak or walnut stain, depending what color I wanted it
clear shellac over that
(perhaps a brown or yellow shellac if I wanted to do something to alter the tone of the stain, or if I didn't stain it)
I would paint the metal treadle base with a black satin paint, just because I want it low maintenance.
A 50/50 mix denatured alcohol + lacquer thinner removes almost any paint or stain. Very aggressive, and flammable. Work outside away from heat, electric devices, cars, cigs, etc.
Last edited by MadCow333; 05-31-2013 at 05:06 PM.