grundig: SO302U/S - Veneer Wood Type

I'm planning to refinish the cabinet on a Grundig 302 that has a wood veneer n particleboard.  I'm planning to stain it darker than it currently is (you can see the photos of my console on the individual page) and I'm wondering if anyone knows what kind of wood veneer was used for these consoles.  

Is there any standard way to tell what type of veneer for when choosing a stain?  I have a few other radios and when I can save the finish, I will, but the boss (wife) wants it a more modern walnut color.

Any help is appreciated!

craig.

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Hello Craig,

it is difficult to determine, what kind of wood your cabinet is made of. If you can take a sharp and detailed picture of the veneer, I could see it better.

Have a look on this page. May be you can see, which type it is. The structur of the wood is more important than the color. Size and arrangement of the voids/prores ? show the type of wood better than other characteristics of the wood.

Nevertheless its quite likely to be walnut. This was very common in these years. The European Walnut is lighter than its American counterpart, may be it is bleeched bei the sun in addition. Walnut sap-wood (from the outer part of the trunk) is less likely to be used.
 

After removing the varnish with thinner, you could use wood stain to darken the veneer. Here I wrote something (in German, may be you can understand a google translation, if not, ask me)

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Hi Martin,

Yes, you are right.  It appears to be American Walnut.  Thanks for sharing that page with all the wood types.  That page would be very helpful in English on the site for those like me that were searching for this information. Unfortunately, I didn't know that my German could have come in use here, but on the bright side, I now know how to say Walnut in German!

Thanks for the help!

craig.

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