[Ron Ramirez]

Ditto what Alan said.

I've discussed these 1936 Philco cabinets with a few people, and a few of us have wondered if Philco used wood with some impurities during that time period, or a cheaper formulation of dark tinted lacquer, that caused the toner to come off over the decades. It's really odd that the 1936 model shouldered tombstones all have a tendency to lose the extra dark walnut toner on the top, sides, and front trim.

I have a 116B that was like yours when I bought it...all of the dark toner was gone. I cleaned it up as Alan suggested and sprayed new toner on it. Looks pretty good now...not perfect, but much better than it did with no toner. It's been two years now and so far, so good.

Correction: My early version 116B still had some toner when I bought it in 2008, but a lot was missing. Before and after photos to follow.