I acquired a Radiola cabinet that had been stripped. Does anyone know what color the non veneered parts were painted (such as the legs)?

Thanks to Nostalgis Air!

Which model? I am assuming that this is a console.

In general; most radios of the 1920's to about the 1936 era were stained with a medium to a dark walnut, or black walnut depth of darkness, as that was the trend of the furniture of that era.

There were some exceptions to that, as are seen in some of the Philco Cathederals, and a few others, but "blonde" wood finishes were not popular until the fifties.

One "un-written rule", the legs, often being made from Cherry, Maple, or soemtimes even Aspen/Cottonwood; wood be tinted dark to hide much of these wood's rather generic grain pattern. The wood was often chosen because it was fairly stable, easy to get turned parts from them with minimal effort, and good strength, with few voids or imperfections. In fact, much of the intricate detail in some cabintes, into the seventies and eighties, (even in some cases today), are produced from Aspen, Poplar, or Cottonwood, and tinted dark.

Most pictures you will find may only give you a good indication of the main carcass of the cabinet, and leave you guessing what the legs looked like. Here again, the answer is a general one; if the carcass was made with Pecan, English Walnut, Rosewood, or Black Wlanut, these will usually be in shades of brown to dark brown, with the legs finished in a shade to closely approximate the depth of color and hue of the main carcass. If the carcass was mahogany, the legs would have been finished with a reddish tinted finish that would be close to a "Mineral Red".

Many of these tinted portions were finished with the varnish itself as the vehicle for the stain pigment- resulting in a single step finish, which will look very different if you apply your stain as a seperate step in the finishing process.

If you appreciate the level of gloss in the old radios, avoid Eurethane finishes- they are difficult to remove, and give the project a look of plastic. The most likely finish that was used was an Alkyd based Spar varnish with a satin sheen. Gloss can be used, but "rub it out" with pumice, and/or Rottenstone to reduce the level of reflectivity before you apply some hard wax.

: I acquired a Radiola cabinet that had been stripped. Does anyone know what color the non veneered parts were painted (such as the legs)?

: Thanks to Nostalgis Air!