In Summer 2017 while at a yard-sale, someone asked if we could use a free piano. I was thrilled! These people had no idea that I played piano and that I had been wanting one since I got married two years before. The piano was in good condition so we took it home. I always wanted to paint it but was terrified of destroying a nice piano, especially since I wouldn’t get rid of it even if it came out terrible. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it up until now.
Let me tell you, I have no idea WHAT I was so worried about! It was honestly SO easy. I did the whole thing with just one paintbrush and there was no taping necessary, WIN! I knew I wanted to use chalk paint so that I wouldn’t have to sand first. I stumbled across this Behr Chalk Paint at Home Depot and did what any good DIYer would do, I googled reviews! But literally there were two…so I was a bit skeptical about experimenting on my beloved piano. The paint just came out in October so I decided to let the lack of reviews slide and give it a go. You guys, this paint is where its at. Seriously.
Now I will say I have never tried Annie Sloan chalk paint, only Rustoleum and Waverly, but for the price and quality of this paint, I don’t know that I ever will. This is not to say that Annie Sloan isn’t great quality, but when I can get a professional finish on a $20 chalk paint that has tons of color options, why would I buy something double the price? Not to mention, there are no stores near me that sell Annie Sloan, so I would have to order it online. That definitely doesn’t work for me…When I decide I want to do a project, its getting done. That. Day. Please tell me I’m not alone!
Before you start painting, you just need to wipe off any dust on your piano. Be sure to get behind the keys as well, I forgot to do this and it was a pain to get all the dust out of my paint brush. After you’ve dusted every nook and cranny you can begin painting! I suggest starting with the piano keys exposed. I didn’t do this and the paint created a seam that I had to sand out. You also risk having your piano get painted shut. Save yourself some time and start with it open. Make sure you do nice thin coats, you do NOT want anything goopy or pooling onto the keys or gumming up your piano.
I found it was best to work in sections. Before I painted the top of my piano I propped it open so that it didn’t get painted shut as you can see in the photo.
You can choose to tape off the keys and pedals if that’s how you feel most comfortable, I personally never like to use painters tape while painting but that’s just my preference. Do what you feel most comfortable with. If you don’t use tape, just push the keys down as you paint behind them and make sure you don’t have too much paint on your brush. After you finish the first coat you can sand down with a fine sandpaper, I used 320 grit. Go ahead and repeat the second coat just like the 1st.
After the second coat is completely dry go ahead and sand it down again, don’t worry about the cloudy look that will likely cover your whole piano, that will disappear as soon as you apply the wax. Whether you choose to distress is entirely up to you, I chose to lightly distress along the edges and on the legs. If you prefer a more aged look Behr also has an antique wax and a white wax, both are beautiful I’m sure. If you use dark or white wax, you should still apply the clear wax at the end. Clear wax protects your furniture and gives it a beautiful professional looking satin sheen. I chose to apply the wax with cheesecloth which you can also purchase at Home Depot. Behr does offer a special brush just for wax, but its $30, I got fabulous results using $4 cheesecloth, so its totally up to you! But if you do apply with the brush, you will still need cheesecloth or some other lint free rag to buff with. I was so shocked at how good the wax made my piano look, you can’t even see brush strokes. After you apply the wax, wait about an hour or so and go back and buff it out, which gives it a lovely shine!
The whole cost of this piano came out to $35.00 including EVERYTHING. However, it should of cost me more like $50.00. The cover somehow popped open on my paint while they were mixing it and it got paint on the outside of the can and I lost the tiniest bit. they gave it to me for TWO DOLLARS. So it must’ve been meant to be right? But really, Behr is my new favorite chalk paint and I highly recommend it! Hope you enjoyed todays post and as always, thanks for stopping by!
