[NostalgiaRadioTime]

Sorry I missed your post about the dial burn marks. As such, I can't recall my set having any. The dial had turned very dark on mine, though, because of age. While the numbers were still there, it was very hard to see them even when the dial light was shining through.

I didn't go the LED route on mine, just used the standard bulb.

As long as the backplate has white paint on it, it will be perfectly fine for reflecting. Doesn't require a perfect paint job, as it will never be seen once the dial is in place.

As far as grill cloth, you could go with something like this:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Grill-Clo...xygPtSxKAd

I believe I got the wheat pattern for mine from Brett, but it doesn't appear that he has any left. He does, however, have the straight line pattern cloth that was used on several 1936-38 Philco table models:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radio-Grill-Clo...xygPtSvzMH