Picked this up because the cabinet was built by a Grand Rapids, MI furniture factory noted for very ornate furniture - Berkey and Gay. I had never even heard of a Balkeit radio, part of Pfansteihl. It's a 9 tube TRF with a phonograph. Unfortunately, there's a lot of pot metal in the tuner assembly and some of it is falling apart. It will be a challenge when I decide to start on this thing. Looks like some lathe work at the very least.
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That is quite a cabinet. The finish appears to have yellowed. If it were to be refinished it would look amazing, BUT, it is also too nice to refinish. It is possible that the hand-cleaner method might help remove some of the "yellow".
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!
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Yes, shellac can turn black, green or white with age and moisture but so can lacquer.
Here is a Wurlitzer that turned white:
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Your radio could have been finished in shellac or lacquer. It looks like somebody tried to brighten up the yellowed finish. This would be justification (for me) to refinish it. It will be an awesome cabinet if done properly. You can test for shellac in a hidden area by applying alcohol on a rag to see if the old finish will dissolve and lacquer thinner to see if that "top coat" is poly which will get soft, but not wipe off. Hope it is not poly.
Be careful with the solvents.
Boy, I hope it's not poly as well! I may test it as you suggested.
I was looking at an old catalog from the early 1930s, and they had a number of sets with cabinets made by Berkey and Gay Furniture, one of the makes was something called a "Cadillac" which I have never heard of, it may have been a private label brand, or the mail order outfit may have assembled them using surplus chassis installed into B&G cabinets. Balkeit was one of the larger independents started in the 1920s, whom had a few good years during the radio boom, then slowly faded, then went bust or merged into another firm.
Regards
Arran