Monterey dresser's been painted over

Hello, I've got a Monterey dresser drawer that someone has painted over. They left an area on one drawer unpainted, so the handpainted cactus design is still there -- I don't know if there are designs on the other drawers, but of course I'd like to preserve them if they are there. So basically I'd like to take off the paint & not disturb the original work. I read the following in the archives of this group in response to a similar question: "If you get ahold of a product called peel-away tm or safest stripper (3M) they are able to remove the top coat without disturbing the original casein based paint. However -- I must caution you that this is an inherently risky procedue and success depends upon proper timing and the fact that you absolutely know that the original paint is casein based.

I know the piece is 20's-50's, but don't know what kind of paint or lacquer was used originally or in the 2nd painting. It does look as if some clear lacquer was used over the design.