Matte Finish on a Buffet Server

This is a situation where we needed to strip just the top for our customer.  There were some dents and dings along the edge of the top surface, and they wanted  to switch to a different sheen.  Something less shiny.  So we carefully masked off the rest of this buffet with paper, and then again with plastic.   Hand stripping is not ideal, but since this is a simple surface, without any intricate carving, it made the job a bit easier for us.   After stripping, the top surface was very clean and was ready for us to sand and paint.

When painting a wooden surface it can be necessary to do something called a 'pore fill'.  This is a special material which will make the wood surface smooth and eliminate the little dents created by the wood grain.  This is especially important with open pored woods like Oak, Mahogany and Walnut.  If you have a more closed grained wood such as Cherry or Maple you may be able to skip this 'pore fill' step.

You can see in the third picture our new 'Matte Finish' painted surface.  Having 'pore filling' done on a matte finish is very advantageous as those pores would disrupt that perfect surface.  Keep in mind, matte finishes are very hard to maintain, a little rubbing and the finish starts turning to satin.  Our client was very happy with the finished look of  their buffet,  that is just the result we are always looking for!

1930's Dining Table

 We just completed work on a stunning 1930s dinning room table and buffet server.  We only worked on the top surfaces, as they were the parts that had become worn and marred with age.  We took the finish off so that we had bare wood to work with.  It was then sanded and and prepped.  This time our 'prepping' required some extra work because our client really wanted the smoothest appearance possible for their pieces.  We used a purplish 'pore filler'  which goes on like putty and then has to be sanded off.  This filler makes the surface really smooth and hides the porosity that is a normal wood characteristic.

We used a 'natural' tone stain on this table, which means all that gorgeous color is from the Mahogany wood itself.  No dyes on this table!  Over that stain we applied a 'semi-gloss' sheen finish.  This finish was then hand polished to bring up the shine.   The hand polishing + the pore filling gave this table a very high shine. It is almost reflective.

The photo below really shows off that 'reflective' quality of the table's new finish.  I can't help but imagine the elegant dinner parties of old that were centered around this dinning table.  It is now in beautiful enough condition again that hopefully it will host many more festive soirees.

Smoothing the Grain Pattern

 Today I want to show you one of our little 'tricks that we use in finishing.  Often, our clients want a perfectly smooth finish on their furniture. Wood naturally has texture to it.  If you have furniture hade out of wood with open pores, then you will see little divits wherever those pores are, even once the finishing process is complete.  So to smooth this texture out for your clients, we can do something called a 'pore filler'.  That is what you see in this first picture.
This paste fills in the grain and once the excess in removed you will have a perfectly smooth surface, as you see in this second picture.  The pore filler does leave color in the grain, so it is important to choose a product that gives color you are happy with.  So you would choose a darker filler if you are using a darker stain, or a lighter filler with a lighter stain.

Once the process of applying and removing the pore filler is complete, we can continue with our regular staining and finishing procedures.  The pore filler simply serves to make a perfectly smooth surface.  It also helps to enhance the natural grain pattern, since that color is left in the pores.  As you can see this buffet top has come out beautifully with this process.