This beautiful buffet had seen better days. I picked it up along with a table and six chairs from a friend of mine who thought I might be able to make her glorious once again.
I cleaned her up with dish soap and water to remove the grease. Then I scrubbed it with a 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol and water. On the top I removed the old finish with laquer thinner and steel wool. Then I sanded with 120 and then 150 grit sandpaper to get to a very even finish. I used Antique Walnut water based stain on the top and the fronts of the top drawers and bottom drawer. Boy, you'd think that would be easy right? Wrong. It's an art to making sure the stained finish is even. I resanded the top wice (carefully as the top is a veneer) because I didn't like how it went on the first time. Practice does make perfect. I then sealed it with three coats of Arm-R-Seal. I love the durability of Arm-R-Seal and the amber would set off the wood grain perfectly.
Knowing the buffet was walnut I used Bin Shellac to do a first seal coat on the body. I painted three coats of Antique white on the body and sealed it with sating High Performance. Now for the fun. On the edge under the top I did two coats of Pearl Effects Copper on the trim. Once that was dry I took a brush and blotted on GF Black glaze, blotting it to allow the copper to show through. Once dry, I blotted Pearl Effects Bronze in a few places - allowing for some blackened copper with a touch of bronze.
Love me the bronze pearl effects. I painted the trim pieces on all three white drawer fronts with bronze pearl effects - two coats. Just to add a touch of interest I blotted a couple places with copper pearl effects.
Whew! It took a number of weeks to get this done but I love it! It's warm, rich, elegant, and has that touch of metallics.
