Olive Green Painted Antique Buffet

When I saw this antique buffet on Facebook Marketplace, I knew I could give it a fresh new look with a little bit of paint. So here’s the olive green painted antique buffet makeover.

Get more green painted furniture ideas here!

Jacobean antique buffet before painting olive green

Isn’t this buffet stunning?? Living in Duluth, MN, we found a lot of cool antiques that were pretty budget-friendly. This one was $175 I believe. What a steal!

If you want to know the best places to get good furniture for cheap, read through this post to find out.

But, you know me, I’m in the business of painting furniture, so let’s make it over!

(While it’s gorgeous before, take a closer look. There are definitely scratches all over… it wasn’t in pristine condition.)

Table of Contents

Supplies Used for Olive Green Painted Antique Buffet Makeover

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Painters Tape
Pre-Taped Plastic
Krud Kutter
Wood Filler
220 Grit Sandpaper
Shop Vac and Tack Cloth to Clean
Clear Shellac (Used as a primer here)
Vintage Moss Paint by Paint Couture Paint
Fuji Paint Sprayer
Respirator
Paint Filter to filter paint into the sprayer
My Favorite Waterbased Topcoat
Java Gel Stain
Lint Free Rags
Gloves
New Knobs

Grab our list of the best painting furniture supplies too!

Prep Buffet For Paint

Every good paint job starts with prepping the furniture. Including cleaning, taping, fixing damage, sanding, and of course cleaning again.

Check out this post for everything you need to know about prepping furniture for painting.

Clean Buffet

So first, we cleaned the buffet to get all of the dirt, oils, and grime off of it. This one wasn’t bad at all. But, every piece of furniture has the potential to have oils or something that will hinder the paint from sticking to it.

So, we sprayed Krud Kutter all over it and scrubbed it with an old damp rag.

I specifically really like Krud Kutter because it cuts through grease and oils really easily, but it’s not harmful to the furniture either. Learn more on how to clean furniture before painting here.

Tape Off Buffet Legs and Hinges

Then I taped off the legs with some painter’s tape and some 24″ pre-taped plastic, to protect them from getting any paint on them. I wanted these legs to stay a dark-stained wood.

antique buffet's legs wrapped in painters tape and plastic

Fill In Holes and Dents with Wood Filler

The old hardware had dug into the wood right around it, so I filled those dents in with some basic wood filler and then let it dry.

Learn more about filling holes when replacing furniture hardware here.

Sand Buffet and Wood Filler

Actually, while I was waiting for it to dry, I scuff-sanded the rest of the buffet with 220 grit sandpaper.

A light sanding with 220 grit sandpaper makes a huge difference in the paint sticking and being durable. Learn more about the importance of sanding before painting furniture here.

scuff sanding the antique buffet with 220 grit sandpaper by hand

After the wood filler was dry (about 20 minutes later) I sanded the wood filler down so it was all flush with the wood around it.

Then. I used my shop vac to suck up the dust, and a tack cloth to finish getting the little specs of dust off.

And last but not least, I didn’t want to take off the doors (because they can be a pain to get back on correctly), so I just taped off the hinges with some more painter’s tape.

Prime Buffet Before Paint

Then, before I painted, I sprayed 2 coats of clear shellac on the buffet.

spraying clear shellac onto the antique buffet's surface

Clear shellac helps block bleedthrough from the wood, preventing stains from coming through the paint, (you can’t get the stains to go away unless you cover them with shellac or oil based products.)

I’ve also learned that shellac helps paint stick. (It’s weird, I know!) So that’s a huge plus too! Check out the best primers for painting furniture (and how to choose the right one) here.

Then, I let the shellac dry overnight, to give it the best chance at blocking the stains. (Some stains are stubborn!!)

Paint Buffet Olive Green

The next day, I put my Vintage Moss paint into my Fuji paint sprayer, using the paint filter to filter the paint before it went into the sprayer (I don’t want anything to clog the sprayer!).

Check out my list of the best green chalk paint for furniture here.

antique buffet in front of paint sprayer

Check out this post to learn all about my Fuji paint sprayer. OR check out my list of the best paint sprayers for beginners and why I love them (and don’t like them. haha)

I also added some water (maybe 10%) to thin out the paint, so it would spray into a very fine, perfect finish.

I sprayed 2 coats everywhere. But since I had left the doors on, it took me 4 times of spraying to get everywhere.

This paint is absolutely AMAZING! It is truly a self-leveling paint, and the finish it created is absolutely amazing!

antique buffet painted in olive green paint in paint booth

I need to use Paint Couture paint more often!

Topcoat Painted Buffet

After the paint was dry for at least 2 hours, I sprayed 3 coats of my favorite water-based polyurethane on it. Here’s a great post with all my tips on how to spray polyurethane.

Restain Buffet Legs

Then I took off the plastic and tape from the legs. These legs were in really great shape to begin with, so I didn’t feel like I needed to remove the old finish.

Read through this post to learn how to restain wood furniture. Check out how to remove wood stain like these legs here.

I scuff sanded the legs with more 220 grit sandpaper to help the gel stain to stick.

scuff sanding the legs with 220 grit sandpaper by hand

Then I cleaned up all of the dust.

Stain Buffet Legs with Gel Stain

Then, I mixed up the Java gel stain, dipped a lint-free disposable rag into it, and wiped the gel stain on, all over the leg. (Working one leg at a time!)

wiping java gel stain onto wood leg with lint free rag

wiping off excess java gel stain with lint free rag

Before the gel stain dried I wiped the excess back off with a clean lint-free rag.

Look at how they shine now!! The gel stain just gave them a fresh new look and filled in any dings and scratches. Check out the best wood stains for refinishing furniture here.

Topcoat Stained Buffet Legs

I didn’t actually topcoat these legs, but I probably should have wiped some oil-based wipe on polyurethane on them to give them extra protection.

Learn more about topcoat options for painting furniture here!

And here’s what the buffet looks like now!! Isn’t it pretty!?! Get more painted buffet ideas here.

antique buffet after painted in olive green paint with dark stained legs and white knobs

olive green painted antique buffet with white knobs and stained legs

More Before And After Makeovers

Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.

closeup of olive green painted buffet with light distressing and white knobs

A customer snatched it up pretty quickly, and we shipped it off to its new home.

Learn about how to make money painting furniture here and check out my handy furniture painting price list to guide you in pricing your painted furniture.

Also, here’s how to offer free shipping and still make money. To make sure you can cater to clients everywhere, learn how to ship furniture across the country here.