Zenith "Walton" factory white finish?

Icy rain accumulating outside, a good time for reminiscences. Back in 2002 attending an OKVRC meeting, there was a superb looking Zenith "Walton" tombstone, a beautiful refinish job. Barely noticeable were some very small white spots in a couple of places around the dial bezel. The owner said when he bought the radio it was all white, and presuming someone had painted it, he stripped it and proceeded to refinish it "properly". He wasn't able to get all the white off the bezel. Oddly the inside of the cabinet was also white. Well, it won a ribbon, but the consensus was that it was a factory white paint job, quite rare but not unknown! I think the owner was wishing he had left it white... Can anyone confirm the validity of a factory white painted Zenith tombstone?

I can't prove it, but I'd say it was indeed a rare factory white set. Every few years on the Internet "boards" someone asked about previous or new found examples of white Zenith consoles. Those have been proven to be factory... So I don't even blink when I hear about a Zenith tombstone.

Another thing to think about--why did the average person paint a "good" radio back in the day? The idea was keeping something of value but keeping it "current" as trends and interior decorating changes. Something extinct today in the "I'm bored with this" throw- away world. The point I'm trying to make is the average person would never had gone to such lenghts of painting the inside of the cabinet, at least without not making a giant mess.

If I ever find a genuine painted Zenith, I'd be quite torn, keep due to rarity or sell? It's one of things where everyone immediately says "looks like some idiot painted it". I really like the stained/lacquered look of wood.

Looking at the copy of a 1937 Zenith brochure,indicates that the cabinets were available in bone white, and I would think it was being done 1938 as well. I had a Philco table radio of same vintage that was factory finished in ivory/bone white color.

The Zenith factory bone white finishes do not age well. They are cherished by some for their rarity, but they look like swiss cheese that was left on on the counter making a midnight snack. Yellow and uneven. If you see a white white finish, it has been repainted.