Vintage Buffet Makeover

You might have a vintage buffet in your dining room that’s been in the family for generations. Or maybe you scored a great piece at a thrift store and want to give it a new look. Whatever the case may be, a vintage buffet makeover is the perfect way to update this classic furniture piece and make it fit in with your modern decor.

Furniture makeover ideas like this are not only fun and satisfying, but they also save you money compared to buying a brand new piece. Get inspired and get ready to breathe new life into your old buffet!

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Welcome to Furniture Fixer Upper day, where we join 4 of our talented furniture friends and bring you brand new makeovers! I’ll link to my friend’s makeovers after our after photos at the bottom of this post! Don’t forget to check out their masterpieces!! Okay, back to our makeover!

See more AFTER photos below these printable instructions!

Vintage Buffet Makeover

Print

Materials

• Krud Kutter
• Damp Rag
• Bondo Wood Filler
• 120 Grit Sanding Screens
• Medium Grit Foam Pads (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• 100 Grit Sanding Screens
• 80 Grit Sandpaper
• Tack Cloth
• BIN Shellac Primer
• Clear Shellac
• Pre-taped Plastic
• Painters Tape
• Heirloom Traditions Paint
• Paint Filter
• Caulking
• Varathane Water Based Tintable Wood Stain
• Lint-Free Rag
• Minwax Oil Based Stain
• Minwax Polycrylic Spray
• Crystal Knobs

Tools

• Hammer
• Flathead Srewdriver
• Crowbar
• Electric Screwdriver
• Metal Scraper
• Festool Rotex Sander
• Surfprep 3x4 Sander (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Roller
• Vonforn Paint Sprayer
• Brush

Instructions

1. Remove any trim or decorative pieces if desired. Remove any old hardware from the buffet as well so there are no obstructions when painting.
2. Thoroughly clean and prep the buffet by wiping it down with a cleaner like Krud Kutter and filling hardware holes and any damage with Bondo.
3. Sand down the top of the buffet to bare wood, and sand the dried Bondo smooth. Clean up all dust and debris with a tack cloth.
4. Prime the wood surface with a shellac primer to prevent any tannin bleed through. If any bleed through does occur, apply another layer of Bondo and primer to the affected areas.
5. Protect any areas that will not be painted, such as the top or drawers, with pre-taped plastic and painters tape.
6. Attach any desired decorative molding to the buffet, securing it in place with nails and screws from the inside.
7. Mix and filter your chosen paint color, then spray it onto the buffet, drawers, and doors using a paint sprayer. Consider hanging the doors vertically while painting for a smoother finish and less overspray.
8. Fill in any cracks or gaps that appear after the first coat of paint has dried with caulking, then apply a second coat of paint.
9. Once the paint is dry, remove any protective tape and plastic from the top of the buffet and stain it with your chosen color. Let it dry for 48 hours before moving on.
10. Seal the stained top with 3 coats of polycrylic spray, allowing each coat to dry completely before applying the next. This topcoat protects and gives a smooth finish to the stained wood.
11. Measure and drill new hardware holes for your new knobs or handles, then install them onto the drawers and doors. Changing out the hardware can make a big impact on the overall look of the buffet.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Heirloom Traditions Paint in Saltwater
• 
  Vonforn Paint Sprayer
• 
  Minwax Oil Based Stain in Early American

More Before and After Makeovers

See All >

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

Old Sideboard Makeover

Painting an Antique Buffet

Painting a Dresser Gray

Major Patio Table Makeover

For this vintage buffet, we were lucky enough to get it for free from some friends who were cleaning out a family member’s house. They just needed someone to come and take it off their hands, so we gladly brought it home and gave it some love!

Let’s be honest, who doesn’t love a good free find? We saw potential in this piece and knew that with a little bit of work, we could turn it into a stunning addition to our home. So that’s how this makeover happened!

We’ll show you the step by step process we took to update this vintage buffet and transform it into a beautiful and functional piece of furniture. Some may be specific to this particular piece, but you can use these tips and techniques for any vintage furniture makeover.

Supplies Used for Vintage Buffet Makeover

• Hammer
• Flathead Screwdriver
• Crowbar
• Electric Screwdriver
• Krud Kutter
• Damp Rag
• Metal Scraper
• Bondo Wood Filler
• Festool Rotex Sander
• 120 Grit Sanding Screens
• SurfPrep 3×4 Sander (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• Medium Grit Foam Pads (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• 100 Grit Sanding Screens (Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order)
• 80 Grit Sandpaper
• Tack Cloth
• BIN Shellac Primer
• Roller
• Clear Shellac
• Pre-Taped Plastic
• Painters Tape
• Heirloom Traditions Paint
• Paint Filter
• Vonforn Paint Sprayer
• Caulking
• Varathane Water Based Tintable Wood Stain
• Minwax Oil Based Stain
• Lint Free Rag
• Brush
• Minwax Polycrylic Spray
• Crystal Knobs

Remove Buffet Trim and Hardware

First things first, we decided the ugly and outdated trim molding on both front sides had to go! It wasn’t the look we wanted moving forward, and we knew removing it would give us a clean slate to work with.

To remove it we used a hammer, flathead screwdriver, and crowbar to carefully pry it off. It took some time and elbow grease, but once it was off, we could already see a huge improvement! So go ahead and remove any unnecessary trim or molding from your vintage furniture if they don’t match your vision.

Next, we tackled the old hardware that came with the buffet. Using our trusty electric screwdriver, we carefully removed all of the handles and knobs. Taking them off keeps them out of the way while we work on the rest of the piece. Plus, we planned on updating the hardware to something new and fresh anyway!

Prepare Buffet for New Paint

Next, we wiped down the entire buffet with Krud Kutter and a damp rag to remove any dust and dirt. There was even stubborn gunk off some of the drawers underneath where the old hardware was, so we carefully scraped them off with a metal scraper.

We also filled the old hardware holes and covered any damaged areas where we removed the trim with Bondo. We did this for some cracks and details on the fronts of the doors too. This step allowed us to create a seamless and smooth surface for our new paint. We also had some extra Kwikwood that I used to fill a couple of the hardware holes on the doors.

Our Bondo Wood Filler review covers our experience with this filler, including a guide on how to use Bondo on furniture, so check it out!

Sand Buffet Top to Bare Wood

While letting the Bondo dry, we started sanding the top of the vintage buffet. We removed the old stained finish using a Festool Rotex sander and 120 grit sanding screens. We even tried out the Surfprep 3×4 Sander with the same grit to see which one would work faster, and both did the job well. The Festool Rotex sander is more aggressive though, so it sanded the top noticeably faster than the Surfprep 3×4 Sander did. You can learn more about these Best Sanders for Furniture in this post!

We also used the Surfprep Sander with medium grit foam pads to sand the curved edges of the top. These foam sanding pads for electric sanders get into tight spots and details easily, so they were perfect for this task.

When the Bondo and Kwikwood were dry, we sanded those areas down smoothly with the SurfPrep sander and 100 grit sanding screens. There were a few tight areas in the details though that we had to hand sand with 80 grit sandpaper. We cleaned up all the dust with a tack cloth after.

Prime Buffet Before Painting

The final thing we did before painting our vintage buffet was to give it a good priming. We rolled BIN primer onto the drawers and the doors, but when it dried, we noticed some areas of bleed through and uneven sheen showing up on the doors.

To fix this, we decided to go back in with a thin layer of Bondo over them then sanded it down smooth. We applied another coat of BIN primer over the newly repaired areas and also primed the rest of the buffet.

After the primer dried, we sanded down all the primed areas for a smooth surface, then taped off the drawers and top with pre-taped plastic and painters tape. We were going to stain the top, so we made sure to protect it from getting any paint on it.

Then we sprayed clear shellac as a final barrier to help prevent any more bleed through before we started painting. Clear shellac is one of the best primers to stop tannin bleed and it also creates great adhesion for the paint, so if you want to stop any stains from coming out then we highly recommend using this.

Add Decorative Molding to Buffet

Remember we removed the old trim molding earlier? We reattached a small piece of decorative molding on each front side right under the top. It took us about 3 different tries, but we finally got the molding nailed and screwed in from the inside of the buffet.

We wanted to make sure the molding was secure so it wouldn’t move around when we painted or moved the buffet. Once it was in place, we were ready to move on to painting!

Sale

Clear Shellac

(3769)

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Sale

Vonforn Paint Sprayer

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Sale

Heirloom Traditions All in One Paint in Iron Gate

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Painting A Buffet

We were so excited to finally paint our vintage buffet after all that prep work! We mixed up our chosen color, Saltwater from Heirloom Traditions Paint, which is a beautiful pale blue/green. If you’re not familiar with this paint, check out our Heirloom Traditions All In One Paint review here to learn more about it.

We poured it through a filter into our Vonforn Paint Sprayer – doing this helps to prevent any clogs or lumps in the paint and makes for a smooth finish. We tested out the spray on a cardboard box first until we got the settings right, then moved on to painting the buffet, drawers, and doors.

We tried something new this time by hanging the doors up vertically while painting them. This technique worked really well for us because it allowed the overspray to settle away from the doors, giving us a smoother finish. In the past when we have sprayed the doors laying down horizontally, the finish ended up being much rougher because of the overspray that settles onto the surface.

There were several cracks, seams, and gaps that appeared after the first coat of paint dried though, so we filled them in with caulking. That made it look so much better, but we also noticed a couple of spots of bleed through. So we sprayed those areas with some more clear shellac before spraying the second coat of Heirloom Traditions Paint with our Vonforn paint sprayer.

Here’s our Vonforn paint sprayer review if you want to learn more about this sprayer, and here’s how to use Vonforn paint sprayer as well if you already have one and need a guide to get started.

Staining a Buffet Top

We moved to working on the top of the buffet – we removed the tape and plastic that we had put on to protect it from paint. Then, using a brush, we applied a coat of Varathane Water Based Tintable Wood Stain tinted in Overcast on the top.

We let it sit and dry for 48 hours before we used a lint-free rag to apply the Minwax Oil Based Stain in the color Early American over it. These two stains combined gave the top a beautiful, rich color that we absolutely loved! Check out our guide on how to stain wood furniture for more detailed steps on staining.

Seal Stained Buffet Top

We finished off the top by sealing it with Minwax Polycrylic in a spray can. This not only protects the stained top but also gives it a nice smooth finish. Three coats should do for proper coverage and extra durability. Here’s everything you need to know about the Minwax Polycrylic Spray!

The paint on the rest of the buffet didn’t need to be topcoated since we used Heirloom Traditions Paint, which is an all-in-one paint. This means that it already has a built in topcoat, making it super convenient and easy to use.

Adding New Hardware to a Buffet

Then we measured and drilled new hardware holes for the crystal knobs we had chosen, and installed them onto the drawers and doors. It may seem like a small detail, but changing out the hardware can make a huge difference in the overall look of your furniture piece! Learn more about How to Change Hardware on a Dresser here!

And our vintage buffet transformation is complete! That pale green color, combined with the stained top and crystal knobs, gives it a fresh and updated look while still maintaining its vintage charm.

You can really see how you can personalize and update an old piece of furniture just how you want it. We hope this process and our tips help you as you tackle your own furniture makeover projects!

Don’t forget to check out these other awesome before and after furniture makeovers from my Furniture friends!! (Click the links below the photos!)

• Two Toned Side Table from My Repurposed Life
• Dazzling Chest Of Drawers from Petticoat Junktion
• Glass Table Makeover from Salvaged Inspirations
• Hutch Makeover from Confessions of a Serial DIYer

More Painted Furniture Makeovers

• Painting an Antique Buffet
• Dark Green Buffet Makeover
• Painted Antique Sideboard Makeover
• Old Sideboard Makeover

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