My cedar chest is made totally of cedar. For the kind I have, you cannot remove anything that has the cedar smell.

If you seal the inside, it won't smell like cedar. I believe shellac is the best option. It dries quickly and is as "organic" as a finish can get.

If you try the shellac, make sure you remove all hardware so you can get it on all wood or you will still have the smell.

I wouldn't bother removing hinges and things. The wood is covered and will not make any detectable difference in the smell. I would get a spray can of shellac and spray the inside. let it dry well and proceed.

update. I had some shellac and I used a foam brush and applied 2 coats, drying a couple hours between coats. it took care of sealimg off the cedar smell, worked great.
my cedar chest is not just a lined witth cedar, bit solid. I did remove he hardware as I will be refinishing the outside of it.

Glad it turned out well.

Thank you for this solution to the cedar smell! I have one I want to use in my bedroom, to store sleeping pillows in during the day. So it’s not sticky, tacky at all and would be fine for this?
Thank you!

Dry shellac is not sticky....make sure you have shellac not lacquer or varnish or any other sort of "finish"....and shellac will cost more than all those other things.

Got it! Thank you!