Smelly drawers

[Bart Leetch]

I have a very nice chest of drawers that my Dad made about 30 years ago, however the drawers have a strong oder which I think is what he finished them with. I would like to brush or wipe on a coat of something that doesn't smell & drys fairly fast with no after smell to seal them. So my highly esteemed friends what would work well to seal these drawers.

This same chest of drawers has the little spring loaded ball catches on the top & bottom of the doors that close over the drawers & they are very hard to open & close. I've looked at trying to get the spring loaded catches out of the end of the doors thats next to impossible. I was just looking at this catch system & it looks like the little detent plates were installed with a small nail & it could be pulled out & using a chisel I could remove some material & re-install the detent plate. Is this the proper way to do this?

[Jim DeLaney]

For the smell. I'd put a couple coats of shellac over the existin finish to seal it. After the shellac cures - a couple days - the smell should be gone.

The spring-loaded catches (bullet catches) should just pry straight up and out. You could also try using a bit of lube on them. Other than that, your method of setting the stop a little deeper should work okay.

[Dale Thompson]

Bart,
Thirty years is a LONG time. This may be of no help whatsoever but you may wish to try a coat or two of pure lemon oil. Orange oil may also work. Don't give up. :) Thirty years is a LONG time!

Dale T.

[Jim Becker]

I'm with Jim...a coat or two of shellac will seal the drawers and should mitigate the odor problem. In fact, shellac (or something water-based) is about the only thing one should put on drawers or the inside of any cabinetry, especially if it will hold food or cloth. You don't want odor transfer to those things! Oil-based finishes tend to off-gas "forever" when in an enclosed space, so I'm not surprised that you're having an issue with a "vintage" piece...

[Bart Leetch]

Thank you very much for the advice. Its what I thought would be the right thing to do to fix the stinking problem, but I just needed the confirmation.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Bart

I would imagine in 30 years the "fragrance" is very likely to have "infected" the inside of the chest as well. I would think that several coats on all surfaces would be needed. Inside of drawers, outside of drawers, inside of cabinet.

It is a good idea to let the drawers hang while drying. This is to say that the drawers should "spill" the fumes of the shellac (actually the solvent in the shellac which is alcohol). If you let the drawers dry sitting open and upright the fumes will settle in the bottom of the drawer, slowing the curing process. While this is only a small issue with shellac it is a good habit to get into as finishes like laquer can take a very long time to cure otherwise.

Good Luck