Wondering if the collective wisdom here might be able to help me. My wife and I recently bought a circa 1943 Lane brand cedar chest in quite nice condition. We want to use it and are wondering if and/or how to renew the cedar odor within the chest. The bottom portion of the chest is solid cedar with a veneered outer surface. Any ideas? Light sanding on the inside cedar surfaces? Are there cedar oil treatments that I can apply to renew the chest? One of the patent numbers branded on the lid describes a shellac sealer on the inner surface to slow the cedar smell from being lost too quickly. Obviously they weren’t thinking eight decades when they wrote that patent idea!
Also, the top has four (4) book matched veneer pieces (over a solid poplar substrate) that appear to be still well glued down and flat but the central joints are a bit frayed looking in terms of the finish shine. I’m guessing that the finish might be a hard lacquer or some sort of hard oil varnish and the shine has been degraded because the veneer shrunk slightly over the intervening decades. The veneer probably shrunk a tiny bit but the hard surface finish just cracked a little in places. Any ideas on adding some finish to these regions? Shellac should stick to just about anything clean - might this be a good idea to fill in these regions at the veneer joints and bring back an even polished surface?
I refinished a Lane Cedar Chest about 20 years ago. It was an old one. I believe based on the website it was from the mid-teens to late teens. A light sanding with 120 grit brought the smell back (No finish on the inside). This one was solid cedar. When I tried to strip it with regular strippers, I got nothing but globular mess I was able to get the old finish off with denatured alcohol which led me to believe it was a shellac finish.
Absolutely, avoid any oil based finish on the inside of a chest that will store fabrics as the oil will impart a rancid odor that the cloth will take up. That is why shellac is used as it is alcohol based and will not impart this odor to contents of closed storage containers.
I refinished my mother's a few years ago. The finish is shellac. I speculated nitrocellulose had more important uses when it was built. The serial number on the bottom will tell you exactly when it was made.
The chemical that has the cedar odor sublimes at room temperature. Over time it will diffuse from the interior of the wood to the surface, sublime and result in the cedar smell. Dead pack a bundle of air dried cedar and white crystals of the chemical will form in the knot holes.
Any amount of wood you can practically remove to expose wood where some of the original chemical remains will at best provide a fleeting odor. To maintain the smell you will need to add the smell, either by adding a piece of "fresh"cedar wood or chavings, or adding the odor causing chemical itself. I have about 100 bd ft of cedar for sale that will provide cedar odor for years to come When we sold lumber we saved all the cedar shavings. There was a good market for them to provide odor in closets, dog houses, etc.
I think I would just put a layer of fresh cedar boards on the bottom of the chest, fitted but loose. They don't need to be very thick. I would not bother finishing them. Some time later you can turn them over.
For an alligator shellac finish, I would abrade somewhat with finishing paper and then work with a shellac pad. The old softens and blends with the new.
It seems odd that there would not be more than one piece being produced in one day in a factory that serializes. I suppose a chair with the same number couldn't be confused with that chest.
Of course the original cedar interior never had a finish applied since that would squelch the smell.
If you have cedar, make some fine shavings and put them in cheesecloth and tie it at the top. A couple or three bags thrown in the bottom of the chest should do it. When you cease to get a distinct whiff, repeat the process. If you don't have cedar, buy some cedar balls. They come in a bag. Distribute a few bags in the chest. Cedar oil is also available as somebody else pointed out.
You could also lightly sand the original boards, it'll help some but likely not enough.
When we sold lumber we saved all the cedar shavings. There was a good market for them to provide odor in closets, dog houses, etc.