[Arran]

I recently was given a 46-480 console by a friend. After a recap and re-alingment, the radio is working well on both AM and FM. The cabinet is in very good shape...except....it looks like someone refinished sometime ago. It has been stained very dark and I am farly certain the finish is polyurethane or some modern type. It is definitely not lacquer.

I would like to see if it is possible to strip the finish and lighten up the color, closer to the original. Any thoughts on how to proceed?

Go to Lowes and buy Jasco Stripper. It is water clean-up. One application, wait 10 to 15 minutes. Carefully scrape old finish off with plastic scraper. Apply another coat and scrape off stain. Wet a piece of #1 steel wool with water. Scrub in direction of grain in wood. Wipe with dry cloth. Wait one day to dry then sand with 150 Grit sand paper in grain direction. Apply stain, wait one day. Apply varnish. I have been refinishing furniture for 27 years. It is not that hard to do. Just take your time and watch what you are doing.

I don't want to come off as nasty but using water around veneer is just asking for trouble. Combine steel wool with water and you have an opportunity for bits of steel wool to get imbedded in the grain and cause rust and iron stains, if you must scrub the wood down with something use a nylon scouring pad or a stiff brush. Yes I have used water to clean up stripper in the past but water has a nasty habit of lifting veneer and loostening glue joints, if you can avoid using water I would.
As for the stain and varnish, old radio cabinets never had any stain applied to them and the finishes were usually lacquer based. The cabinet was grain filled, then sealed with sanding sealer, a shaded laquer was then applied, then coated over with clear laquer, then buffed out after everything cured.
Regards
Arran