How To Paint a Piano

If you’ve been thinking about painting your piano, then run, don’t walk, to your nearest paint shop and get yourself a quart of high-gloss enamel. You don’t have to paint it green, or any particularly bright color. But if you feel like your piano needs a fresh start, this is the cheapest, fastest way to go.

I had been wanting to do this project for 9 years and kept getting intimidated by it. But there was no need for fear. It was actually very straightforward and is one of the most satisfying projects I’ve finished in ages. Here are my notes, in case you’re considering a paint job.

 

how to paint a piano

Choose a Piano That’s Not Worth Restoring

The best candidate for something like this is a piano that’s not worth restoring. Ours was perfect. It was the piano I grew up with and it was pretty beat up when my parents originally picked it up for a bargain $300. By the time I inherited it, it was even more war-torn and the first thing I did was get 3 bids on having it refinished and restored. All three refinishers told me it would be about $2000 to restore the inside and $2000 to restore the outside and that the inside was just old, and even if it was restored it wouldn’t be as good as new. All 3 recommended sending this one to the junk yard and buying new.

But new was out of our budget. And so was a $4000 restoration. I got some other opinions, and it was decided that the piano was good enough for lessons for the kids (the kids were babies at the time), and that we could get a more serious piano when and if our kids became serious piano students.

So we just kept the piano as it was and I dreamt of at least giving it a shiny coat of paint. I kept the dream alive for 9 years. Some years I thought a glossy black would be lovely. But then I felt like black would seem like I was trying to make the instrument more formal than it really was. Later I thought maybe a white coat that we could sand down and make sort of rustic would be nice. Then for about the last 3 years I decided turquoise would be the right thing to do, but I never made it happen. When we were moving, the piano was so depressing I almost left it behind. But Ben Blair said we should bring it to Colorado.

Saturday morning I was craving a challenge so I decided to finally tackle the piano paint job. When I got to the paint store I had a vision: go big or go home. I decided on Grass Green then and there. I bought one quart of hi-gloss enamel, one quart of primer, tinted to match the paint, and a paint brush. Grand total: $40.

By Saturday afternoon I had primed it and painted 2 coats of paint. At that point, I decided the green was a little too yellow, so I took the remaining paint back to the paint store and asked them to green it up a bit. 

Saturday evening, I added one more coat and then came back to the project on Monday. Monday I did two more coats. Tuesday I did some touch ups. And tada! It’s finished.

Unexpected thing: I can already see this will be the signature piece in our home. I had never thought about a signature piece for our home, but because I went with a bold color, now we have one. Every person that comes in the house is drawn to it. Everyone wants to touch the keys. It’s been played more in the last two days than it has been in years. Ben Blair wants to host a recital and call it Variations on the Green Piano.

Other unexpected thing: a piano is big. Physically and visually. It’s not just a small accent piece. Once you have a green piano, you basically have to design the room around it instead of just work it into the existing space. Which means I need to talk to the landlord about painting the walls…

Seeing our newly painted piano makes me super happy. Green wouldn’t be right for every home, but it’s perfect for ours. I feel like I just bought this piano 10 more years of life. Next up: time to get it tuned.

Updated To answer some of your questions:

1) The color is Benjamin Moore Yellow Green (but in my mind it looks more like grass green).
2) I didn’t use oil-based paint.
3) According to the paint store: yes, you should sand off any existing hi-gloss finish before you prime.
4) I don’t have any “before” pictures to share. I did have some. But they are gone. Because I am an idiot and mistakenly erased them.
5) Yes, I painted the bench as well. When I have the room more put together, I’ll share a photo tour.
6) I did not disassemble the piano, but an expert or less-lazy person would have. I painted with the keyboard closed. Once the paint was dry, I opened the keyboard and painted around it with a smaller brush.

Happy painting!

P.S. — More green piano photos. Plus, at what age should your child start piano lessons?

149 thoughts on “How To Paint a Piano”

  1. I wanted to get a piano just so i could paint it pink. We finally got the piano, but my husband said that we’d paint it . . . over my dead body. Dang! I am happy you lived out my dream….maybe someday~

  2. I LOVE love love this. I’ve also been contemplating painting my piano for a while!

    Did you disassemble the piano at all? That is what’s intimidating me right now…

  3. your wink and comment about standing on books cracked me up. I do respect the lady who commented on the other post for saying what she thought – its always good to hear from those who wouldn’t do what you were doing. Your response was funny and respectful.

    My mother in law gave us our piano that is old and only used when my daughter transfers her music from her recorder into piano. But my mother in law lives about a mile from here. Not sure I’m that brave. Not because of the color or the idea, but scared of her!

  4. i can’t tell you how excited i am to see that! We have an eye sore of a piano that i grew up with and was passed down to us. i too was thinking of painting it black, but now i see your amazing green piano and i think i’m in love. i will send you a picture when it’s done. thanks for the inspiration!

  5. I am so glad you posted this! it looks sharp and clean. My piano is in the same boat…needs paint, someday! Thanks for the inspiration. And I love that little violin sitting on the top (I am a violin teacher…grew up in logan, too).

  6. Perfect timing. We just moved last week and our old, ugly piano is still sitting at our old house. I was contemplating whether or not it was worth moving. I am so doing this! Thanks for the inspiration!

  7. SOOOOOOO awesome! Wow it makes me want to do this! Not green, but after staring at my living room maybe bright orange or yellow. Fuscia was also on my idea list but not sure-I’d have to relocate my favorite art in that room. Only problem-more painting, new area rug needed, and 2 new chairs. Hm . I’ll still thank you for the idea! :) I also

  8. Thanks for the boost of courage. I’ve been dying to paint my piano some unconventional color, but I’ve been a little hesitant. Maybe now…

  9. Thank you – thank you – thank you for this post! I’ve been trying to convince my husband that our ugly piano could be display-worthy if we painted it an awesome color, and he was a complete non-believer until I showed him this post. Now he’s thinking of color ideas.

  10. I LOVE this. I’m a big fan of painted furniure and this is just fabulous. We’ve been thinking about looking for a Craig’s List piano and now I know exactly what I’m going to do when we find one!
    Thanks!

  11. Brilliant!!
    Painting my piano has been on mind my for sometime, since seeing a gorgeous white painted piano in a magazine. Thought it may be a lot more complicated to do, so thanks for sharing that!!

  12. The piano looks incredible. You can hear the accomplishment in your writing. It’s wonderful. Good job! i love how it’s inspired your family to play more.

  13. I thinks your kids will have a much easier time playing the piano with such a vibrant color. It is good for them to know that music is fun, a form of expression and art. They will be able to know that just by looking at the insrument. Brilliant!!

  14. Your keys look like they are in good condition; I have thought about the restoration as well but was deterred by the cost. The top of our piano has a leather-like covering; what do you think…can I paint that as well? I am intrigued and think I’m going for orange. My living room is mostly in those greens so I think the orange will really pop in the room.

  15. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Barbara

    http://keyboardpiano.net

  16. I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

    Barbara

    http://keyboardpiano.net

  17. oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! I have been thinking about painting our old piano yellow for a couple of years…. this may just be the inspiration I needed. Thanks!!

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