Expert: Eileen Cronk - 9/29/2009

Question
Hi there!
I am refinishing the final piece of a 9 piece oak dining room set. It is a glass fronted china cabinet and I have left it until last because I am afraid of damaging the glass. I like to use circa 1850 stripper in the yellow can and I'm wondering if you can tell me if it will damage the glass. I have masked it in plastic but  am afraid it will drip.
Another question I have is the glass "window" has a decorative inset which is scroll like. This flat piece of wood is held against the glass by small pieces of trim tacked into the door on the bottom and two sides. The top of the decorative piece looks like it has some cloth or paper machee holding it in. (the top of the door is curved). As the piece is stained walnut and I am stripping  it back to the oak and staining "golden oak" I think I would like to strip and stain the inset as well. I'm wondering how I will put it back in once I have removed it.  The trim can be re-nailed but I don't know what to do about replacing the batting.
Any advice you can provide would be so welcome.
Signed Christine from Canada

Answer
Hi Christine from Canada
Nice to hear from a fellow Canadian.
Congratulations. Not often a person is brave enough to refinish an entire dining set.
Circa 1850 in the yellow can will not harm glass in any way so don't be afraid of getting it on the glass.
The scroll work can (and should) be removed and stripped and replaced using the existing nails and wood trim.
The material you see is likely just a light canvas with glue applied in an area it was impossible to nail.
So go ahead and remove it. It will not be salvageable but can easily be replaced with another sturdy material and some glue.
Sure would love to see a photo of the completed set.
Kind Regards
Eileen