We purchased this 1970’s piano years ago when our kids were toddlers. It cost more to have it delivered and tuned than it did to buy it. It was made up of a couple different pianos—the legs were from one, the top was made by Larry out of a piece of nice oak we bought. It worked great for our kids to practice (ok, pound on) and we never freaked out about sticky fingers and sippy cups.

But as our kids have become more responsible, we wanted to give this ol’ timer a facelift. Some piano purists do not approve of painting pianos. However, if its old and worn, we say why not? Many pianos are too cumbersome to be moved for a paint job. We decided to leave ours in our music room during the process which also meant we didn’t have to pay to have it retuned.

We started with a good soap and warm water scrubbing. After it was completely dry, we sanded everything with 150 grit sandpaper followed by 220 grit sandpaper. The best paint we’ve found for this type of project is Benjamin Moore Advance. We used good quality latex brushes, and the finish came out super smooth.

This project took some time and patience; taking the piano apart, sanding, priming, painting and putting the whole thing back together. But the result was worth it, it turned out beautiful!