Tom Adkins wrote:
I'm finally getting to the cabinet of my RCA C15-3.
There was damage to the top that I thought was from water. The veneer
on the left side(viewed from the front) was gone and the surrounding
veneer was lifting. The crossbanding was also lifting in the left front
corner.
I stripped the veneer and cut out the ragged crossbanding. It appears
that someone had sat a lead-acid battery on that corner of the radio at
one time. The stains on the base wood bear his out. I've since stripped
the crossbanding off the entire top, so the top is only the base wood,
~2" wide strips of ~1" board bonded together.
The contamination has gotten into the base wood on the entire left
side, and left the wood "soft". I can dig it out with a fingernail. This
repair is quickly getting beyond my expertise. Thoughts?

Anywhere you see brown, the wood is soft and contaminated. There's no chance it
would adhere veneer.