Oh I love the flame burl and the inlaid on this federal style buffet. I loved it from the moment I saw it. I picked it up from a woman who was moving out west to go work at our national parks. She was emptying her townhome. I told her I would give the buffet new life and a lot of love.
In prep I cleaned her up with dish soap and water to degrease then scrubbed with a 50/50 mixture of denatured alcohol and water. The top and the drawers needed to have that beautiful wood grain along with the burl and inlaid brought forward. I gently took the old finish off with laquer thinner and steel wool. Once that was off I sanded the top gently with 120 grit sandpaper. I used GF Brown Mahogany water based stain on the top and drawers. I sealed them with Arm-R-Seal - 3 coats. The frame I painted with two coats of GF Lamp Black milk paint. I sealed that with 3 coats of High Performance Satin.
Now for the inside. The inside wasn't in great condition. The inside gave me a challenge because #mahogany and #winestain. Where oh where was my GF stain blocker? I didn't have any. I wanted the open cabinet doors to have a cream inside. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Not a smart idea without stain blocker. I tried the Bin Shellac first. I painted three coats of Annie Sloan Old Ochre on the inside. It bled and bled and bled. I even waxed between coats. Finally on the 4th coat after applying wax and waiting for a few days it looked good. The shelf was painted in Annie Sloan Country Grey. Again with the bleeding! I did the chalk paint/wax combo and after 4 coats got it to work. Guess who bought a ton of GF stain blocker?
It was a challenge but a learning on how to address mahogany. The final product is now AMAZING!
