Bow Front Buffet Makeover: Powder Glaze and Sugar Beet

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This antique mahogany bow front buffet was handed down to a sweet friend of ours from her now deceased mother-in-law. It had been in storage for some time. She wanted to bring it back to life with a new look, and luckily for me, she has great taste and shares my love of color. You all may remember a curvy buffet we painted recently in this same color scheme of Sugar Beet by Behr and black powder glaze. Well she loved it and picked it for her buffet. While the two pieces are very different in style, one chunky and curvy and one slender and sleek, they both turned out fabulous in this finish. The legs on this piece are just to die for! No other finish would’ve done her justice. I am certain of that.

To begin with, she had old bubbly stain/varnish on her that had to be stripped completely off to ensure a smooth, flawless finish. No amount of sanding would’ve done the trick. She was stripped using Klean Strip Premium Stripper. (This stuff works wonders but you must use protective gear when using!) It was brushed on, allowed to sit a few mins, and removed with a putty knife. When the stripper starts to bubble up, you know it’s ready to come off and can just start scraping. After all the bad areas were stripped, lacquer thinner was applied to remove the left over residue from the stripper. It was then cleaned with TSP (trisodium phosphate). After cleaning, it was sanded completely down using our Dewalt Orbital Sander and sand paper for the detailed areas. After being sanded down, she was cleaned again multiple times using TSP cleaner and washed until the water came out clean. It is important to start with a good clean, degreased piece for good paint adherence.

Next, the buffet was primed using Zinser Oil Based Primer. Two coats were applied to ensure good coverage. This primer is not only good at giving your paint something to stick to, it also prevents bleeding and blocks odors (great for old, musty pieces). The primer was sprayed using our Home Right sprayer.

For this piece, we mixed our own chalk style paint using Behr paint in the glamorous color Sugar Beet and calcium carbonite. Three coats of paint were applied and the buffet was hand sanded with 400 grit sandpaper in between coats, again, to ensure a smooth finish. Once dry, it was sealed with two coats of Varathane Polyurethane. It was sanded using 400 grit sandpaper again.

Next, powder glaze was applied. While this product can be applied with a brush, we recommend a sprayer for the best finish. We used a different sprayer to apply the powder glaze. We used our el cheapo $10 sprayer that we purchased from Harbor Freight and the air compressor. One coat is applied all over. It goes on as a liquid and then dries to a powder like substance. Think Xerox copy machine toner. Once dry, we use 3M brand fine sanding pads to sand the excess powder glaze back off. You basically sand off where you don’t want it to show/show as heavily. By doing this, the glaze will sit in the details of your piece beautifully. The more detail, the better with powder glaze. It was made to highlight it. You must wear protective gear (mask/respirator to protect your airway) and I recommend also wearing a paint jumpsuit with long sleeves and pant legs and also gloves… unless you want to be covered in black powder that is very difficult to remove for the next week or two. Once you’ve sanded off all the glaze you want (start with a little and see how you like it, you can always take more off, you can’t put it back on seamlessly), use a dry cheap paint brush like a duster to dust off and remove the loose powder that will be hanging around.

Once you’ve dusted it clean, it’s time to clean up and get ready for sealing. You’ll have to sweep/vacuum, remove and replace all your dust covered drapes, change out the filters in your spraying area, etc. Once you have a clean working area again, you can begin to seal it. We sealed this piece once again with the Varathane Polyurethane because it gives a beautiful shine and also a hard finish (not meant for white/light colors as it can yellow). This buffet was sealed with 4 coats and sanded with 400 grit sandpaper in between each coat.

So if you’re wondering why this finish is so costly…. that’s why. It is a LOT of work and very messy. A pain in the ass if I’m being honest. But man, does it make a beautiful project!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Please comment below if you have any questions.

Happy Painting!