Now that my tv unit has been chopped up it is time to start recreating it. The first step in turning it into a kitchen banquette bench is filling up any holes left by nail and screws, and then sanding it all down. Giving the entire piece an allover sanding will help the primer grab on a little better as well when it comes time to paint. 

I started off by removing all the old hardware. This was a happy step for me. This hardware is so easy to remove that a 5 year old and 7 year old can do it. I should know. I’ve spent way too much time over the past 10 years searching for and reattaching the hardware. Each drawer pull is actually three pieces, the pull, the back plate and the screw. I’m actually surprised I still have all of them intact. I’ve had to open the drawers with a screwdriver shoved in the hardware holes before reattaching them for the umpteenth time. I’ll be installing some new irremovable hardware to match the rest of the kitchen.

Once it was dry and hard enough to sand I sanded the entire piece with my DeWalt hand sander. Fun tool! I sanded off years of bumps and nicks as well as any areas that were filled with wood filler.

Then my cleaning crew helped me wipe it all down to get ready for the next step, painting! He retook some measurements for me, just in case…