Virtually all old wooden TV and radio cabinets were finished with lacquer, usually including a colored toning lacquer.
A couple of small scratches can be concealed with a Min-Wax stain pen or a Q-tip dipped in stain. Some people even use a brown colored marker. The local Home Depot here carries the stain pens.
If you have a lot of light scratches and scuffs, I have used the trick where you wipe the entire cabinet with stain, let it set up briefly, then briskly rub off the entire cabinet with a soft cloth. The stain will remain in the scratches and darken them, but be buffed off the rest, not darkening it too much. This method also has the effect of restoring some of the shine. Note that some kinds of stain can take a long time to dry in a humid climate.
If your finish is so badly worn that it lost its color, then the best solution is spray on fresh toning lacquer to color it, followed by one or more clear coats to protect it. Whether you strip the finish first, or just smooth it with #0000 steel wool and spray directly onto it, would depend on how far gone it is. If you strip it, you may need to apply grain filler before lacquering, to fill the pores in the wood.
You can buy Mohawk toning lacquer from Antique Electronic Supply and many woodworking suppliers.
Phil Nelson
http://antiqueradio.org/index.html