Buffet in the Buff! (The furniture, not me.)

Submitted by pericles49 on Sun, 01/09/2011 - 12:52

My wife and I have been looking for a buffet table to put in our dining room for the past few months, and she recently found one that we both love: the Tango Console from Ethan Allen (below.)

ethan allen tango console

For $1,200 (including tax) though, I thought I could do close to the same thing.  My version isn't QUITE identical, but it's close, and it's cost me less than $150 so far.  I'm calling it the Salsa Console:

Brief moment to pat myself on the back. . .

 

. . . OK!  Back to work.  Here's my problem: the whole thing is made out of common pine, so it's got all the scratch-resistance of cheese.  I'd like to prime it and paint it black, to match our oh-so-classy IKEA Steffan chairs, but I think that the work surface on top will just end up looking terrible when dishes scratch, ding, and dent it up.  My wife suggested that we stain it black, which I liked as an idea, but I was concerned about just how dark that would make it.  Is black stain a true black?  Or will it just look like an espresso brown?  I'm also a little concerned because of the amount of wood-putty I used to fill cracks; how much of that will show through the black stain? 

 

She also suggested staining the wood black, and then painting a matte black on top of that.  That way any nicks won't reveal the white of the wood or the primer.  Thoughts?

 

Thanks to Ana for all her work.  I made a Sketch-Up of this before I started and, once I make the modifications to my model that building it suggested to me, I'll post. 

 

-Jack

ispeakwhale

Sun, 01/09/2011 - 13:55

Wowser!  I love it...the Salsa is beautiful!   I'm no expert with finishing so I won't attempt to answer your questions but I wanted to let you know that if you post plans of this they will be loved.  Great job, Jack!

MakingitCheap

Sun, 01/09/2011 - 14:54

It's rather gorgeous!  Wish I hadn't bought one similar a couple years ago.  I'm sure everyone would love to have plans.Cool

Tsu Dho Nimh

Sun, 01/09/2011 - 16:17

I LOVE IT!

A couple of coats of polyurethane will harden up the wood considerably. 

If you want an absolute black stain, get a bottle of india ink from an art store and swab it on. That stuff soaks in deeply and turns EVERYTHING black, including wood putty. Then apply a gloss or satin top coat.

anawhite (not verified)

Sun, 01/09/2011 - 20:08

Jack, I cannot wait for these plans!  Outright incredible!  Thank you for sharing!  Ana

pericles49

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 07:47

Thanks to all of you!  I'm going to take Tsu Dho Nimh's (hilarious name! It took me a minute to get it) advice: stain, then poly on top.  We're looking for a matte finish, so I'll find something as flat as possible.

 

The plans have been submitted, hopefully they'll pass muster and be up soon.  I hope others find them useful!

benzito

Mon, 01/10/2011 - 16:20

Your design looks great!

If you're going with stain on pine, be sure to use pre-stain conditioner or non-waxed shellac (SealCoat at the big box stores) before you apply the stain and the poly.  I've switched more to non-waxed shellac more recently and find it works better than conditioner.  It will help with the pine wood's tendency to be blotchy and uneven and should help with the stain's adherence to the putty (the putty and filler probably won't ever completely disappear, but that's life).  You can get Minwax polycrylic in a matte or satin finish, I think.  If you use polycrylic, it won't tend to make the stain turn yellowish over time.

The depth of the stain depends on the color, of course, and whether it is liquid or gel.  You can get gel stain dark enough and thick enough that it is almost like paint.  If that is the way you go, I'm not sure what advantage there is to stain versus paint.