Talking about how to paint a piano today and I am SO excited to finally have wrapped up this post for you! If you remember a few months back, we acquired this piano free from a friend. I am ecstatic to be able to have this in our living room for our kids to learn while they are young. While I love the dark wood, I have a lot of other wood features throughout our living room and they all clashed together so I decided to jump into it and paint it. I DON’T REGRET MY DECISION ONE BIT. It plays just as beautifully as it did when it wasn’t painted and I just love how it blends so well into our decor. I did quite a bit of research before actually painting it and I will share all the steps with you here today. It was way easier then I first anticipated!
Our piano had a lot of orange undertones in the wood which I did not particularly like. For whatever reason, I was very drawn to the Annie Sloan’s “Louis Blue” Chalk Paint and I learned from Brooke that using this chalk paint actually eliminated the step of priming the piano first. I was a bit skeptical but sure enough, this baby only needed two coats of chalk paint. I didn’t even need to sand it down first! I actually mixed the Louis Blue with white to get the desired shade of blue that I wanted. I used this chart here and used the 2/3 old white mixed in!
Step 1: Tape off the keys and the pedals as best as you possibly can!
Step 2: Mix up your desired paint. In my case, I just added the old white to the desired shade and mixed it together vigorously with my paint stick!
Step 3: I just used a few different sized brushes that I picked up at my local hardware store! Get painting! I used a larger brush for the bigger parts and tiny brushed for the more intricate details. I let this first coat dry (chalk paint dries quick) and then did a second coat!
Step 4: If you choose to use a wax (I did) then you can wait until your 2 coats are fully dry and then take out your furniture wax! I used this brush here to apply it! I used the white wax and after applying, I took a dry cloth and buffed it so that it was no longer tacky.
TIP: You can use clear wax first (let it dry) and then apply your desired color wax on top. This way, the darker wax will not stain the paint below it. If you don’t like it, simply wipe off completely. It’s a great way to play around with color/distressing without ruining your brand new paint job!
If you have any other questions that I did not mention here, please let me know in the comment section! 🙂 If you end up painting your piano, send me pics – I would love to see it!
Linked up items seen within these images including the bench, shades and more!
Do you think steps similar tk this would also work on a piano woth a high gloss finish?
How did you go about painting the keyboard cover? I recently acquired my husband’s grandmother’s piano and would love to paint it but want to do it correctly and not mess it up!
WHat is the purpose for the wax?
Your timing is crazy spot on. 2 days prior to your post, I googled How to Paint a Piano. Was thinking of decoupaging it or something creative. I went to Santa Barbara on Sunday and saw many painted pianos on the streets that people can just walk up to and play. Then wha-la…your post. So, I stopped at Dunn Edwards paint store just to find colors that I might like. Of course I would get the chalk paint you spoke about. I started a conversation with another shopper and she said I should try this paint called Annie Sloan. What are the chances of that? Here I am stripping my 2x painted piano so I can start new. Can’t wait to give it a new life. Thank you.
Tip or trickS for working with annie sloan paint? Ive been working on an old secretary and i just cant get it smooth – lots of brush stroKes no matter how carefully i try and paint it. Any suggestions? TIa
BeAutiful!
Hey! Im so excited to do this to a piano im getting as a christmas gift for my family! Im wonderinf how much paint you ended UP using? Also if you know the exact ration you used Mixing the colors? I love love love your piano and your Website! So many good ideas are flooDing to my mind on what i can do to make my home look more cozy like yours! Thank you for sHaring! Xo
I’m Very interested in painting an antique piano that was given to mE by my family. Some of the wax Has come off over the years and a little paint discOloration from water damage BROUGHT on By my kids. Do you recommend Sanding it down beforE to make it smooth?