[Arran]

Joe;
Some of the scraps from the old veneer on top may be a closer colour and grain match to the old stuff. I think the reason for the difference is that the original stuff was French walnut, but the new is black walnut, French walnut is more reddish brown, where black walnut has a brown-grey colour to it. Tinted lacquer is good for hiding flaws, and repairs when you need to, so is wood dye, or even fabric dye. What I tend to do is cut a patch shaped to look like the rays of the original veneer, a short of arrow head shape, and then cut a slot in the veneer to fit the patch by tracing around the patch. I really need to figure out how to upload, and post photos on here to show how I do certain things, though with things like stringing dial cords it would be hard to illustrate with photos.
Regards
Arran