[rfeenstra]

Russ, at some point in it's history, someone tried to "restore" the finish.  If you look at the edge of the door, you can see where something was wiped on and slightly spread over onto the inside surface of the door.  There is evidence of this in multiple places.  Perhaps you are familiar with what might have been used??? The inside of the doors and the speaker grill have a very strange color and are probably the original, deteriorated finish.  The inside of the record player compartment is probably close to the original walnut color on the cabinet. Much more brown.  Looking at the inside of the doors and the grille, what kind of finish would have deteriorated in that way?  It looks highly oxidized and almost greenish in color.  Could they have used shellac instead of lacquer?  Does shellac age in that way?

It looks quite nice just sitting there and I may just leave it.  It would be a lot of work to refinish and, perhaps, beyond my skill level.  I would probably send it to a local pro who does a lot of refinishing of locally made, fine furniture from the earlier part of last century during Grand Rapid's heyday of furniture manufacturing.  My Grebe cabinet was made by the same comapny - Berkey and Gay.  I just recently discovered that quite by accident and that added to my interest in the Grebe and in this Balkeit.  I like the local history, even if the radios themselves were made elsewhere and may be of questionable performance.  Interstingly,  I would say Berkey and Gay built the Grebe cabinet down to a price as I didn't think the construction was all that high a quality.  The Balkeit seems to be a much finer cabinet.  For me, it may be worth spend the $$$ on getting it refinished just for my personal satisfaction.  I'm thinking out loud here and convincing myself to have it refinished!