[Michael.N.]

The old paint effect used to be a real trade, otherwise known as marbling and graining. May still be the odd person doing it as a profession but they are probably very thin on the ground. It used to be seen in most victorian houses, internal doors and casings used to be pine but 'grained' to look like a more expensive wood. To my eyes most of it was meant to be oak. It was done to a pretty good standard too. I saw lots of it in the 70's and 80's. Being sparkies mate saw to that. It's pretty much all been ripped out now.
I suppose you could give it a go if you felt inclined. The worst that can happen is that you have to remove it. One day I'll have a go. I've already done it in terms of fake wood grain - that is on wood but I've not done it on bakelite.
As others have said you could just go through the grits and stop when the scratches are no longer visible to the naked eye. That will get you to a certain level of shine/gloss. You could leave it at that or you could put shellac on it, shellac pretty much sticks to anything and has a strong reputation for doing so. That's also a way of subtly altering the colour of the bakelite (should you wish) by putting a pigment in the shellac. Number of ways you can go with your cabinet.