Cleaning up and refinishing antique RailRoad Master’s Desk

Greetings. I recently purchased an Antique Railroad Master’s desk that was in pretty bad shape and have begun the process of repair / Refinish work on this desk with wonderful potential.
While I have some experience in refinishing older wood furniture, I would like to ask assistance from y’all so I do not screw this up.

should I take a good wood cleaner to it before I start to sand in prep for a new stain or varnish?
Should I even consider staining it?
Right now I have it separated into the two base cabinets, with the desktop On another table for refinishing. My plan for now is to Get the top Then work on the base cabinets. The roll top cabinet is probably in the worst shape and I’ll tackle that last.
Once I have finished it’s going in my home office

 

Some before photos

 

If you're using an iPhone, I'd still like to shoot Mr Apple (NOT you!) for not being able to fix their sideways photos problem!!!! Here they are straight up!!! Looks like you've got your work cut out for you....I'll not be the one advising you....but will tag a couple of others.... @verybrad, @blooey, @Ghopper1924 ??? Others may well chime in some advise too!! Good Luck!!!

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Thank you. Unfortunately my family is an Apple products family.
As to the project, I have nothing but time and a desire to do this right

 

This is just in my own opinion:
No to wood cleaner, sanding cleans a lot of grime off.
Decide about the stain later, after all sanding and other prep. IF you have some wood repair / replacement done, you may want to stain a new piece to match, or then stain the entire desk. The stain seems such a personal preference, I doubt you could go wrong with any decision.

@evelyb30 , may want to see this desk! She knows historic railroad knowledge.

 

After sanding, can wipe some water onto the wood - this will show you the true color of the wood and the wood grain - if you put clear finish on.

 

Only thing I would sand is the top. Even then, doubt that ink stain will come out. Strip and refinish or just touch up/restore the finish on the rest. Stain the top to match if necessary.

 

You can bleach the ink stain and make it lighter but as Brad said, it won't come out all the way.

 

What about treating the wood? Some of the joints are as I call it ‘popped’ I can get them back in place Using a cinch strap, but there is still a slight bit of warp. Someone mentioned using a wood oil to treat the wood and help make it a little more pliable

 

Using force to straighten warped wood won't work, it will find a way to return to its warped status or split.
There are a blue million ways to deal with warped tops and it depends on how much warp, species of wood, thickness, bla bla bla.
Oil won't work, you need to change/modify the cell structure which usually means water/steam/heat/sunlight, etc.
On severely warped tops, particularly ones that are single board, cutting kerfs on the underside of top is sometimes employed to straighten as a last resort.

 

That James........what a knowledgeable dude!!

 

LOL, Well, you know, wood is organic, it has a cell structure like all living things do and, once you get a kink (tension) in those cells it's not so easy to un-kink them!

 

Wood misbehaving!

 

My cousin did a lot of refinishing for my mom when she was in the antique business. She cleaned grim with a very diluted ammonia and water . I was always amazed at the result. Be careful because too much ammonia and too much rubbing can take the finish off. You might try it on an obscure place. See what others think before trying it.