so you are saying where it is shiny I've removed the shellac? I was trying to get it all to look like that. Thanks for the link about cleaning, I will try that. And I don't like the green, but don't know about stripping the entire thing. What about finding a nice brown paint & cover up the green? I know I have to be very careful with the lid. I've been cautioned by my neighbor who fixed it. I put the plastic on it to make smooth for sewing/moving fabric across it. For the time being I will keep it open as I don't want to ruin what he fixed. Apparently a previous owner had a problem opening/closing it and yanked it so hard it pulled the hardware out of the wood.