Buffett To Workbench

There's been an old buffett table in my basement that I've been wanting to repurpose into a workbench. I knew that I wanted to paint it but wasn't sure of the color. I think that it will look good in black with the handles and trim sanded down to it's natural color.

The first step of this project was to get all painted surfaces sanded. Do this should not only allow the paint to stick better but also get rid of some of the marks that have gotten into the wood over the years. The hardest part of sanding was getting the trim and handles down to bare wood. I started knocking the paint down with a palm sander but considering the angles I had better results after moving to hand sanding.

After brushing on 3 coats of paint I think the coats look even enough that no more coats are needed. In the picture above the handles and trim are still their natural color.

After 3 coats of laquer on the raw wood I think it looks good. The wood under the laquer should hold up a little better now too since these area are likely going to see the most use and make the most contact with tools or whatever I'm working on at the time.

I wanted to mount my table vise to the workbench so I drilled 4 quarter inch holes for the bolts to hold it down. I was a little worried that maybe the top wouldn't be thick enough to handle the vise but the top is at least 4 inches deep so I think it should be okay.

Below is an image of the finished result of the project. So far it has been working well as my main workbench and I'm sure I'll get many years of good use out of it. Much more than just an old vintage buffet table taking up room in my garage.