Restored Buffet/Sideboard

It’s been a good while since I’ve participated much on lumberjocks. Therefore, I’ve been out of the practice of taking pictures along the way. So, it’s hard to describe what this looked like in a “before” picture.

Basically all the case joints and drawer cases were loose and required regluing. I removed shelf liner from the drawer interiors and replaced the drawer bottoms. Remounted the mirror with new clips. And oh yeah, it was COVERED in thick green/white paint. Someone in the past had attempted a green paint undercoat with a white paint overcoat in hopes that it would crackle and look old/distressed. Didn’t work, and had obviously been sitting in someone’s shed/barn for a long time (dirty). Fortunately, the piece had been finished before it was painted, so with the exception of a few places, the paint did not penetrate into the oak grain. But geez, maybe four hours of woodworking repairs/regluing and 30+ hours of paint removal sanding, stripping, picking, scraping and refinishing.

I knew something somewhere was probably wrong underneath all that paint though – and it was the doors. Badly broken, poorly repaired and veneer loss. So I replaced the doors and hinges. What pleased me most was my first attempt at a fake matching grain finish on the doors which are actually made out of china birch ply (not perfect but decent). I’ve had the tool to create a fake grain finish for some time and I was able to make it work acceptably!

Not great pictures and it’s a little dusty waiting for pick-up.

-- Paul, Texas