Is there any way to remove wood stain, without needing a hazmat container?

[Hannelore]

I'm hoping to strip the hideous stain off of my sewing chest. Any suggestions?

[Akavit]

Since you don't want the killer stuff, I won't suggest methylene chloride.  It's great stuff but is also responsible for all those deaths you read about where people died in their bathtubs while trying to refinish them.  I use it all the time which probably explains certain elements of my personality.

I'm assuming you need to get the finish off and not just the stain color?  If the latter, then wood bleach and/or chlorine bleach should do the job.  There's a technique you must follow when using those products on wood but I'm not going to post all that info tonight.  It would take too long and I don't have links handy to paste at the moment.

If you need to get finish off, identify the finish first.  If lacquer thinner softens it then it's probably lacquer.  If alcohol softens it you've got shellac.  In either of those cases you're in luck as you can just use regular solvent or a mild furniture refinisher (toxic and flammable but doesn't have methylene chloride)  If neither works then it's some other sort of finish that will need harsher solvents to remove.  You'll want to work outdoors in a shady area.  Never attempt to use large quantities of solvents indoors unless you've got explosion-proof ventilation systems.

Of all the paint strippers I've used, the most pleasant is 3M Safest Stripper.  It's expensive though and to make things worse, it's weak and you'll need a lot of it.  I've used 2 gallons ($60) to do a small buffet once.  Be aware that you must avoid reading the instructions and let the stuff sit on the furniture overnight (or longer) while covered in plastic.  No way will it take off paint in 4 hours or whatever optimistic timeline stated in the instructions.

I think that 3M stuff is water-based however and that's a potential problem if the dresser has veneer or loose joinery.  The instructions also state that it cleans up with water but that's a bad idea.  I did it once on my first refinish job and it cleaned the furniture nicely.  I did have to spend another day repairing lifted veneer.  Cleanup should be done with denatured alcohol instead.

All of the above is just a brief summary.  It's not enough info to actually do the job but it will let you figure out which direction to go.

Another alternative is to see if you can find someone in the area with a flow-over paint stripping system.  Refinishing is fairly expensive but just stripping something may cost less than you running out and buying all the necessary supplies for a one-off job.

[Hannelore]

I think it's just color, since I can feel the wood underneath, and it's pretty uneven. Thanks for the info!

[Akavit]

Read up on wood bleach, chlorine bleach and add oxalic acid to the research list for good measure.  If you need more info I can answer questions later.

Hopefully you don't have milk paint because if you do, I don't know how to get that off other than possibly soda-blasting it.