[willy41]

I am a complete novice restoring a Philco 3650.  The top needed refinishing (lacquer had lifted in places, there were water marks and other blemishes) and so I have sanded it down to bare wood using a variety of papers ending with #400 steel wool and then #400 paper).  Now, I have always thought that when you swiped a wet cloth over the natural stained wood you would see pretty well the appearance one would get after applying lacquer or urethane.  Problem is that, while wetting the wood brings it up exactly like it was before sanding, applying a wee bit of urethane on a small spot does not produce anywhere near the desired finish.  I have not done this with lacquer yet-might it make a difference?.  But I am wondering what I am missing here-perhaps I need to apply a light coat of stain?

BTW, can anyone tell me what type of wood this cabinet top might be?  It certainly would help to know this if I need to apply some stain.

Willy