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If you have already tried the usual radio grille cloth sources (AES, grillecloth.com) and struck out, then you'll need to live with what you have. I would be cautious about cleaning the cloth. It gets fragile, as well as faded, over the years. Don't rub it hard. Dabbing may remove some obvious dirt, but it won't restore color that faded out years ago.
As for cleaning the Bakelite cabinet versus polishing it, Bakelite is amazingly tough and resistant to chemicals. I have used old fashioned paint stripper -- the nasty stuff -- to remove paint from Bakelite with no bad effects. The radio shown below looked so nice after stripping that I couldn't bear to repaint in the factory paint color.
So use whatever works when cleaning grime. Just don't go crazy with abrasive polishes.
Phil Nelson
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