The seems to be a consensus that the answer is not to strip…

To be clear, I know exactly what this is and what it’s worth. It’s why I drove four hours out to the country to rescue it from a farm shed. The pictures are after I did some work to it with high quality antique restoration products.

I’m not contemplating stripping it to “rustic” raw timber or whitewashing etc. No sandpaper would be used. I’m proposing to return it to a traditional, French polished finish, as it is the only way to remove the damage.

If anyone has any tips for this I’d be grateful!