Measuring tape stencil
I love the measuring tape stencil on my Free cabinet, but I'm not sure how to clean and protect it. I tried one small cotton ball swipe yesterday with a Formby's cleaner and it seemed to be way too harsh (you can see the area in the photo between the 11-12 inch mark and it's not as obvious in real life as in the photo). I really should have known better - test on an INCONSPICUOUS area and start with the least aggressive cleaner. In retrospect, a corner, a q-tip, and a milder cleaner would have been a better idea for the test.
So, belatedly, any suggestions on how to gently clean it? You can see how thin it is - the grain shows through in many places. But the whole cabinet is really dirty, so I think it does need at least a little cleanup.
I'm not sure what the rest of the cabinet will need. I'm going to clean it and see whether Howard's Restor-a-Finish is enough or if I need to try to learn how to shellac. Meanwhile, I think if I first protect the measuring tape, it will make it easier to work around while I do the rest. I thought of blue painter's tape, but I think it could pull off more of the stencil if it's not protected first. I'm a painter, so I have a lot of art supplies that I could use - damar varnish, retouch varnish, etc. Or I could put clear poly on just the measuring tape or try the premixed Zinsser shellac, but I've never used shellac before, so I worry that I'll do damage with it. Thanks for any guidance you can offer!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]461730[/ATTACH] What NOT to use for measuring tape cleanup: [ATTACH=CONFIG]461731[/ATTACH]