Painting My Piano

I’ve been getting lots of questions on how I painted our piano, so I thought that I would write up a little post here about the process. This blog post will explain the entire process of how I turned my dark-stained piano into a white one to fit the aesthetic in our front room! Here is the before of my piano…

I had been debating over whether or not to leave the piano as it was or paint it for quite a while, as I liked the look of the old stain, but wanted to lighten up the space. I finally gave in one day and decided to paint the piano white, and I love how it turned out!

I started by wiping any dust off of the piano with a damp, lint-free cloth to ensure that the surface was clean for painting. I then taped off the keys and pedals with painters tape. To paint it, I used my own homemade chalk paint with Benjamin Moore White Dove, color-matched to Behr paint. I color-match to Behr paint because it is cheaper. To color match, I go to my Home Depot and they have all of the color codes on file for other paints, so I ask them for Benjamin Moore White Dove and they have the code right on hand. To completely cover the piano, it took 3 coats of paint, due to the stain being so dark.

Once it was dry, I then distressed the edges and the decorative part in the middle with 100-grit sandpaper. After distressing it, I wiped the piano down again with a damp, lint-free cloth to clean off the dust from the sandpaper. Finally, I dampened a cloth and dipped it in Rustoleum Transformations Decorative Glaze in Java Brown (If the cloth is dry, it’s not as easy to wipe it off if you get too much on, which is why I opt for a damp cloth). I used the cloth to wipe it on the edges where I wanted the piano to look antiqued.

I decided not to wax the piano at this time due to it not being a high traffic area for us, but I may wax it in the future. This is the wax that I will use if I do ever choose to wax it. Note: A water-based poly would be more wipeable, but I love the matte look that wax gives and I don’t need this piece to be super wipeable.

I hope this helps answer a lot of the questions that I’ve received regarding painting my piano. It was a super easy project and after it was finished, I kind of wished I had done it sooner. I love the lighter and brighter look! I would love to hear what you think too!