Preparation is Everything

I indeed took the first step in the transformation of this entertainment credenza. It was a long day but the progress that was made, made it worthwhile. I had the last-minute uncertainty about what methods to use, so a quick search of what steps to take made it clear. After collecting my everyday carry, glasses, phone, large artificially sweetened coffee, I made the short walk to the shop.

First order of business was to get the credenza on a set of furniture dollies so that it could be repositioned easily. I then proceeded to dismantle everything that was screwed down, doors, shelves, drawer slides and the back. I removed the door hinges and the individual door latches and door pulls. I removed the glass pane from the center door. The back of the cabinet was actually stapled into place but with a little persuasion it was eventually removed. Finally, after 30 minutes, everything was removed. Lunchtime!

After a quick snack it was back to the shop to pick up where I left off. I decided to use my orbital sander with a 150-grit sanding disk. Removing everything from the cabinet really made it so much easier to sand. After sanding I vacuumed the dust that remained and used a damp cloth to finalize cleanup. I went back over the entire cabinet and door frames with liquid sandpaper just to ensure that the gel stain had something to grab on to.

So that’s where I left it today. Tomorrow’s goal, gel stain.