I would not worry about the "sticker issue " as much as you should inspect each and every drawer for excess wear on the drawer side board -bottoms (where the drawer slides on the supports of the piece's main structure. We call these "highboys" or "chest of Drawers" around this part of Missouri. The top looks like it may be veneered as well as the drawer fronts. This is very easy to see on a "natural" finished piece like this. Look for grain "direction changes" on these parts of the piece. If the grain does not continue thru the entire thickness of the particular piece of wood -- it's probably veneer. Solid quarter/sawn curved/bowed drawers are not often seen as the look of the wood will change as you look across the "curve". Veneer is not bad as long as the veneer is tight across the board - you can usually tap on the places with your knuckle and the sound will change if the veneer is loose. Of course sometimes it is obvious if the veneer is raised up. My guess of the piece's age is that it was made between 1920 -1935. If all is ok with the piece -- price sounds good to me! I could buy it and probably sell it for more -- Good luck

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nwestner- I started using mineral spirits to clean the pieces. On some of the pieces I did (the pie safe and the music cabinet in particular), the mineral spirits didn't even come close to cutting the grime, gunk, dirt and old cr*p on them so I used some stuff that my BIL made up for me. It was a combination of shellac thinner and lacquer thinner. The gunk wiped off. It took me about 4 hours on the pie safe and about 2 hours on the music cabinet. After I got all the old stuff off, I cleaned again with mineral spirits. I then used boiled linseed oil as the finish. I think I put 3 coats of that on over about a 3 week period. From start to where I put the first coat of boiled linseed oil on took me about 4 - 6 hours. Also, I prefer the more primitive look- as you can tell from the pictures. Many people put a poly coat on their pieces but I love the look of the boiled linseed oil finish. I would give anything to find a dresser like the OP found on craigslist! Except my next project is to find a turn of the century wood-coal cook stove to use in my kitchen as a plant stand and display area :) Here is a link that might be useful: Original Post

I noticed you working on the floor with no knee pads..Shame on you..*s* You can paint the dresser w/o stripping. What matters most is that the surface is clean and dull. Use a #150 sandpaper to remove the gloss and then smooth with a #180 sandpaper. Apply a coat of BM Fresh Start Acrylic primer and finish with two coats of quality 100% acrylic enamel. Michael