How can I refinish this radio cabinet?

I would use General Finishes Gel. It’s a gel coating for the wood so you don’t have the heaviness of paint but it covers great. You can still see the wood grain even after a few coats. The wood doesn’t need to be sanded, just clean. I used it on 50 year-old kitchen cabnets and it turned out great! It would work wonders on your cool, old radio. PS, my Dad used to fix old radios.

Well you all learned to do it the incorrect way, so now let's learn to do it right.

You need to strip the piece and start over. I like Citristrip. Then I sand. Then wipe down to remove any dust and debris. Now you can paint or stain. If staining, add a few coats of poly to keep it pretty. Still use coasters or trivits before setting down a glass or cup.

Stripping/refinishing is always an option, but a lot of work, especially if you end up doing the whole piece to assure one uniform look. I would be tempted to focus on the damaged area. Can't actually tell from the photo but it looks like you have already sanded through the top layer of veneer so even if you strip you will still have a damaged area.

I would use tinted wood putty to refill/level that area,. Sand smother using a sanding block. Refill and resand until there aren't any imperfections. The first putty should be as close as possible to the original color. The secondary fill(s) can be darker. This will create a grain/natural wood like effect rather than one uniformed patch. You can blend various colors of wood filler (natural, mahogany, walnut, and possibly ebony to get a pretty good match. I like using the Elmer's filler that comes in tubes, but it needs to dry completely before sanding.

Once you you have this done, try some stains. This may do it and you can overspray with clear lacquer. If the repair is still too obvious, over spraying with a toner lacquers may help. Toner lacquer comes in varying shades.

If if all this effort fails, mask off a geometrical shape that cover the repair and paint a design.

Hope this helps.

How about something like this:

https://www.hometalk.com/diy/bedroom/furniture/fab-furniture-flipping-contest-country-chic-paint-bling-bling--17349814?

Stripping is an option, but it depends on your experience. If you do not have a lot of experience, it can be frustrating.

I would suggest lightly sanding the piece using 220 grit sand paper. Paint using chalk paint in the color of our choice (I prefer Dixie Belle, but any kind will work, depends on your budget).

For the speaker section, I have replaced these with faux ceiling tiles you can buy off of Amazon. All you have to do is cut the tile to the size of the opening (like I did on this vintage stereo cabinet).

Here is the Amazon link for the faux ceiling tile https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004Y0VAU6/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all

Hope this helps!

I also have an antique radio/record player that needs work to bring out it's beauty. Your question and the answers helps me too

Thank you!