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]

Check at Lowe's for a product called Renuize It"(? spelling). It comes in dark or light. I used it on all my Bentwood cases and treadle cabinets.

Rodney
Ponchatoula, La.

Correction it's "Restore-a-finish"

Rodney

Maybe some Murphy's Oil Soap? Have not used it on sewing cabinets but it does a nice job on my kitchen cabinets.

The tape measure decal is a delicate as a stencil on the black singers. Use a little sewing machine oil on it to clean. If you attempt to remove any shellac protecting the stencil you will loose it. Once it is clean as you can get it then you can apply a little shellac with the french polish to protect from future ware. This is a hard one to clean up nice so be very careful.
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