On Mon, 20 Dec 2010 10:07:35 -0800 (PST), "
wrote:

On Dec 20, 12:23Â*am, "Steve B" wrote:

I have an old White's sewing machine. Â*Some say to strip it and redo it.
I'm more for a light sanding, some staining and dark staining of gouges and
then a light finish coat of clear. Â*Or two.

I wouldn't worry about an old White's sewing machine cabinet. Circa
1950's, perhaps? I know there were some nicely made machine/cabinet
combos out there at that time.

The problem with just sanding is that you don't get the contaminants
away from the new finish. If is almost surely old lacquer of some
sort, and that means it will crumble into dust when you sand it. You
can clean all you want, and you probably will still have those nibs in
your finish.

My second concern would be the contamination of the new finish
itself. Back until about the 70's, "fast dry" lacquers were used in
finishing items such as tables, chairs, cabinets, etc.

My personal experience has been that if you don't remove them
entirely, they will re-dissolve into your new finish. Today's newer
finishes have strong, powerful combinations of solvents in them that
will allow them to actually dissolve old finishes. This will cause
discoloration, streaking, etc., in your newly finished cabinet.

Strip it, sand it, finish it. Done.

Besides, those old finishes are so thin you would spend more time
doing a great sanding job than just stripping it off. Some of them
will bubble up directly behind the applicator!

Good luck!

Robert
If it is an old White Treadle machine case (White, Raymond, Singer,
and many others built very similar cabinets) MANY were finished with
shellac and can be "refinished" using nothing more than Methyl
Alchohol and pads of clean burlap.

Or you can use Circa Furniture Finish Restorer.(at about 10 times the
price)