Refinishing Nelson Thin Edge Dresser  

I'd test the existing finish (assuming it's original) to determine type and refinish using same. Pretty safe bet that it's a nitrocellulose lacquer, but it might be toned. A little lacquer thinner on a cotton swab should tell the story.

Thanks!  I, too, suspect it's lacquer.  Just not sure about toning it.  I don't have a sprayer, so I was planning on using spray cans of lacquer, which I can only find in clear.  Could I mix up some toned lacquer, brush it on, and then coat with spray cans of clear?  

Post photos and test as mentioned above. Transparent lacquer yellows a bit with age and tends to chip off at edges and high wear areas. It also allows the underlying wood to darken over time from UV exposure (which won't come off during stripping if you can avoid excessive sanding). If the finish is toned, it will show on the cotton swab as brownish and the test spot will appear lighter in color. You can buy lacquers formulated for brushing that contain "levelers" and other additives for extending working time, but spraying is best.

Not seeing an image of your dresser, I'm assuming that it is a Thin Edge dresser that it is in rosewood (some were in teak & walnut).  The 1955 catalog describes these as having a hand rubbed finish (oil) & these wood veneer were never toned or stained unless your dresser was refinished before you got it.

Point of clarification: The catalog entry makes no mention of oil. "Hand rubbed" in wood finishing parlance generally describes the process of smoothing (by hand) a dried film finish with abrasives (such as pumice, rottenstone, or steel wool) to reduce or level "orange peel" texture resulting from spraying and/or to produce either a high polish or satin sheen.

A mid-1950s Herman Miller ad describing the finish in tiny font.

"5251 Rosewood chest designed by George Nelson available in new rubbed oil Gunstock finish."

Many of the "rosewoods" (and other tropical hardwoods such as teak) contain waxy resins that can interfere with adhesion of common film finishes and, thus, are often instead oiled and/or waxed for the aesthetics of saturating the grain and producing an overall, even level of sheen. Most rosewoods, when sanded through to finer grits, don't need any finish at all to maintain durability.

Thank you both for your replies!  This is very helpful.  Let me get some better photos to post up and I will share them.  I suspect this particular dresser is teak, based on the color.  It is almost certainly not rosewood.  Anyways, I will post up some photos in the near future and hopefully that will give some more clarity.