Cabinet finish.....

Take a cabinet into your local Pratt & Lambert paint dealer talk to him about available options.

He might tell you to just steel wool the cabinets and then use a gloss finish polyureathane. Multiple, as in 7-8, coats with a steel wooling in between coats.

You will have to find out what the original speakers were coated with. I.E., you can not put polyurethane over laquer. If I recall, the old AR's were oiled and not coated. If this is the case, I would re-oil with a tung oil. It will look hand-rubbed and show lot of depth, and be very durable. Keep the oil off of the speaker cones. First, you need to find out how they were coated in the first place. Try the owners manual or get on AudioAsylum.

Good luck.

Get finishing book by Bob Flexner. I believe by Taunton press. It will detail how to determine what finish is on the cabinets and what finishes are compatable.

Thanks all