Can I strip the paint off this?

It's a bad idea. The paint is the primary feature that gives an antique painted cabinet its context. Taking it back to bare pine destroys centuries of social history. Stripping also reveals timber that wasn't meant to be seen. Carpenters used knotty, mismatched boards because they knew the painter would cover their work.

My husband wants to put this huge old painted cupboard we inherited into the conservatory, but I am worried the sun will do something to the doors?

Direct sunlight will bleach the original pigments. Early organic and earth-based paints fade quickly when exposed to strong ultraviolet light, especially the blues and greens. Temperature fluctuations in a conservatory cause structural issues. Heat bakes the timber, shrinking the fielded panels and cracking the gesso ground. Keep it in a room with stable humidity and weak natural light.

How do you clean the surface?

Dust it lightly with a dry, soft cloth. Moisture is the enemy of old unstable paint. Don't use chemical cleaners or spray polishes. They dissolve the original protective size and strip away the fragile top layer of pigment.

The doors on the cabinet stick at the top whenever it rains heavily and I was wondering if we should get a carpenter to plane the edges down a bit?

Don't alter the original timber if possible. Wood breathes and expands with ambient moisture. The doors stick during wet weather because the pine absorbs humidity. Try checking the levelling first. Uneven floors twist the carcase, which throws the door alignment out of square. Slipping a wedge under one foot often resolves the rubbing.

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Antique Painted Cabinets

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These wooden storage pieces feature decorative surface scenes or faux finishes applied directly over the timber, built to hold household linens or display ceramics.