Painting the Piano

The finish on our piano is really dark and pretty damaged. There are knicks and scratches all over it. Plus, it’s missing pieces, the sheet music rack is broken and it is time to do something about it.

Our piano is located in my living room with my dark brown leather couches. Because the sofas are so dark, the piano looks too heavy for the space. Given the damage it has accumulated through the years, I started researching how to refinish the piano.

Researching How to Refinish the Piano

Most inspo pics showed pianos refinished with chalk paint. And I seriously considered using that. However, I decided to try Fusion Mineral Paint because it’s suppose to be even easier than chalk paint. Say what?

It’s true! Fusion Mineral Paint does not need a piece to be pre-sanded AND it has a top coat built in. How cool is that? Ideally, I prefer to try new techniques on smaller projects, but decided to go all in on the piano.

(Posts on stacyling.com may contain affiliate links. Click HERE for full disclosure.)

Supplies Needed to Paint the Piano

Whether you refinish a piano with chalk paint or fusion mineral paint, it is a personal preference. Both work really well and minimize the amount of work needed to complete the job.

What You Need

• Chalk Paint or Fusion Mineral Paint (I used the color Raw Silk)
• Paint Brush
• Painter’s Tape (to tape off any areas you want to avoid painting
• Finishing Wax (if you refinish with Chalk Paint)
• Sanding Block
• Dry rag to wipe down after sanding
• Wax brush or old sock to apply wax
• Piece of cardboard to help paint around the keys.
• Drop cloth
• Antique Glaze to help age the piece (if desired)

How to Paint the Piano

• Remove all hardware if you don’t want to get paint on them.
• Lift bench off the ground to make it easier to paint the legs. I set mine on paint cans that are the same size.
• Lightly sand the surface to scuff it up.
• Wipe down whole piece to clean it up with dry rag.
• Start painting! Allow the piece to dry in between coats. Since my piano has such a dark finish, I needed to use three coats of Fusion Mineral Paint.
• When piece is dry, open it up to expose the keys. Lightly sand down any areas or drip marks. Then finish painting. I used a piece of corrugated cardboard paper that I had laying around to help paint around the keys.
• Allow to dry for a few days. Then lightly sand the edges to give it a distressed look.
• Clean the surface with a dry rag or cloth.
• Then use a damp cloth or damp brush to lightly apply the glaze and wipe off to give it an aged appearance.
• Allow to dry.
• If you finish the piano with chalk paint, use a finishing wax to seal it.

I’m not sure whether I want to use a glaze on the edges of the piano or not yet. Instead of doing it right away, I am going to live with the piece for a little while. If I decided to use the glaze, I would apply it with a damp cloth, then wipe it off with a damp cloth so it is very light and not heavily glazed.

What Do You Think?

And that’s it! What a transformation! I love how it turned out. Painting the piano was not very difficult but it was a little more time consuming than I expected. For more cool DIY Inspiration, check out Upcycled Vintage Framed Chalkboard and Painting Upholstery Fabric with Chalk Paint.

Thank you for following along. If you decide to paint your piano or other large furniture piece, I would love to hear about it! Tell me about it here and be sure to follow me @bricksnblooms on Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram where I share lots of the behind-the-scenes of my home, garden and personal life.

PIN IT TO REMEMBER IT!

If you like this post, I would love for you to share it on Pinterest. I’ve created the above custom pin for this post.

Subscribe to the blog to gain free access to special home and garden content not available to the general public. Thank you for visiting the blog today! xo