Hi,
Could anyone assist with a product or homemade solution to remove age stains from white Bakelite radios?
I have one that has turned a cream colour due to age?
What is a good general polish for these radios to bring back the shine?

Automotive paint polish (Kitten, Polyglaze, etc) is one of the better ones. Silvo or Brasso can work too but leaves more residue that has to be wiped off.

Some stains in Bakelite tend to go deep which means they can't be removed, no matter what.

Bakelite can also be scorched if one is tempted to hurry things along with a buffer - best to do the polishing by hand.

This is what I do, but as always grab a broken case and try it out first.

Make sure you wash the case in warm soapy water first to remove any grease and dirt build up, you can gently use a toothbrush or tooth pick to get the dirt out of the tight corners and grooves. Let it dry completely before polishing.

If it is really dirty or has fine stress fractures you can also soak it in a solution of "Nappysan" to bleach out any dirt in small cracks.

For white cabinets hand polish with "Autosol" it's a mildly abrasive metal polish that will "cut" the top layer of the case and restore it closer to the original colour. You need to apply a bit of pressure as you polish, ensure that you support with your hand inside of the cabinet under the spot you are polishing as you rub so as not to break the case.

This will work on most coloured bakelite cabinets, but NEVER use an abrasive on black or brown bakelite or you will end up with a yellow mess,these are best just washed and polished with a wax.

You haven't mentioned make or model number, so the first thing is to be sure that what you have is white bakelite. There are a lot of white bakelite radios that are actually brown bakelite enamelled white (see example in my avatar here). In such cases you need to be careful not to cut too much surface off the paint as you polish.

Maven

Philips, Mullard (the rebadged Philips models, not the Airzone ones) and Kriesler were big on painted cabinets.

A genuine white bakelite case is quite rare, because it required not only a very clear and consistent resin, but also a fine white filler in place of the sawdust most commonly used in brown and black bakelite cabinets. I understand that talc was used to fill some white bakelites. Would gypsum be another possible filler? No sure how it would react with the phenolic resin.

Inconsistencies in the colours of dark bakelites were less visible, and were more acceptable to the eye that was accustomed to polished wood surfaces.

Mottle effects were made by the way filler or different fillers were mixed into the resin, like the CWA ladies and their rainbow cakes.

Maven