Refinishing the cabinet turned-out to be a two-step procedure: One, get the cabinet stripped and ready for finishing, and Two, the actually refinishing (repainting).
I think the best way I can show this is to show a progression, of sorts.
Original cabinet condition, left hand side:
Right hand side:
Peeling laminate (or what I thought was laminate):
60 years of smoke, gear lube, and just general "gunk" on the rear foil:
One dirty, greasy, smelly, and overall just plain ugly internal divider board:
At the beginning of this process, I thought the cabinet had a laminate finish ("Blond Toned Honduras Mahogany...." according to the sales brochure), so a friend of mine referred me to a furniture restoration shop which he felt may be able to help me out. That shop was (is!) Minuteman Services in Rogers, MN (http://minutemanservices.biz/)
Scott Wentzel, the owner, was very nice, and quite knowledgeable, so with a handshake agreement I dropped-off the cabinet and let him have at it!
However, once he got to working on the cabinet we learned that the finish wasn't a laminate after all, but rather a faux/painted-on finish! And not only was my original finish absolutely "gone", there was nothing currently available that would even closely resemble the original. Also, there was considerable work that had to be done in order to prep it for it's eventual finish.
(Much hand-wringing and "hemming and hawing" on my part here...)
Eventually Scott convinced me that the proper procedure to follow was to find someone to re-apply a finish resembling, as closely as possible, the original. (And for that I now owe him a debt of gratitude! Thanks, Scott!)
I asked Scott if he could seal-up the cabinet as well, as the same "smell" permeated from it as I recall form my youth. Thankfully this wasn't difficult for him, and I must say there is absolutely no smell to the cabinet whatsoever!
So here's what I picked-up from him (a perfect substrate for the future faux finish):
Thank you so much, Scott!
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