Jeff Gorman responds:

wife inherited a old armoire-about 75 yrs old. veneer marquetry with nice
patina on outside. Trouble is, inside has a musty smell. Looks to be some
kind of softwood stained dark. I tried 2 coats of waterbased poly on
inside but it still smells.
Any ideas on getting rid of smell or sealing it in?

Cat litter is supposed to work, though I haven't tried it.

The type with baking soda in it might just work. We used baking soda last year
to rehab a refrigerator after our fire--the clean up crew didn't bother to
empty the rerigerator for 2 weeks (in July, no power for most of that time).
They then proceeded to clean it lightly. Several boxes of baking soda in open
dishes took the smells out in about two weeks.

And believe me, that machine was waaaaaaaaaaaay past musty!

Charlie Self
"Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen." Ambrose Bierce, The
Devil's Dictionary