My Free Piano

About 5 days before we moved from Fort Benning, Georgia to Fort Bliss, Texas, my husband was reading the paper at breakfast. He knows me so well. He saw an ad for a FREE PIANO. He immediately suggested we get in the car and go check it out, mind you it was 7am. I told him we should call first...we did, and we did go check it out.

This poor piano. It was under a mountain of papers and junk. The bench was being used for a TV stand. It had that "old" smell, you know, the musty one that seems to stick to antiques? Yeah, yuck. But it SOUNDED BEAUTIFUL when I put my fingers on the chipped keys. My husband knew I wanted it despite the hideous exterior. He made me promise to refinish it. I quickly agreed and he loaded it into the bed of our F150 all by himself (love that man).

My two year old was beside herself with happiness at the fact that we now owned a piano. She would sit in the garage for an hour at a time and play it. Garage, because it was too ugly to be in the house. Then the movers came and packed it into a truck.

It has been about 7 months since then, and I finally got around to it. It has definitely been a priority project, but I needed some help watching the kids so I could begin the piano transformation. My mother-in-law came for a visit, so I took advantage of the free babysitting and got right to work. I did this in a day (minus a few pieces that needed both sides painted and glazed).

I knew I wanted a distressed look for the piano....it just seemed to suit its personality, ya know?

I completed the bench several months ago, just to practice the technique and prove to my husband I knew what I wanted to do. I just didn't get around to the entire piano until now.

First thing....clean it! Geez, it was dirty. I took some big pieces apart, made some minor repairs (tightened screws and nailed a few loose boards....nothing that would compromise the tuning though). I vacuumed the cracks and wiped all surfaces of grime. Then I used 100 grit sandpaper to rough up the finish....ALWAYS GO WITH THE GRAIN OF THE WOOD!!

After sanding....wipe it down with a damp rag and LET IT DRY!

I wanted to add a little something extra, so my husband helped me pick out a wood scroll. This is the best time to add something like that. A little wood glue, a tape measure to make sure it is centered. Ooohlala. I love it. Wipe off all the excess glue and then give it time to dry (several hours) before you continue on.

Next...the best part.....paint. I used a paint/primer in one. My husband picked the color, and would you believe I don't remember the name of it?? Ugh, but we bought a gallon and I think the entire project, bench included used less than a quart...who knew??

Work in small sections so it doesn't get tacky and dry as you're working. I used a 2.5" angled brush. I use a pretty expensive one and I take very good care of it. It's totally worth the extra money to have a nice brush. I would have used a small roller for the flat sections, but the darn dog ate it.

Now, because I knew I wanted a distressed, aged look, I only did one coat of paint. It's uneven, but it only adds to the character of it.

After half a day of drying in the desert air, I started the distressing and glazing process. For this part, you'll need some more sandpaper, cheesecloth, a cheap brush and I recommend some gloves.  Glazing is so easy.

To distress, take your sandpaper and rough up the corners, places where furniture would take a beating anyway, and then I like to pick a few extra spots to give it some more character. Don't overdo it, and make sure your paint is good and dry before you do this, or it will get gummy and peel off.

Then wipe it down again to get all the dust and let it dry again.....again. It's such a waiting game.

For the glaze, brush it on in sections, then wipe it off with your cheesecloth. Make sure you get the glaze into all the cracks and crevasses, it will enhance the look. Wipe WITH the grain of the wood, and use long strokes on big secitions.

When you're done with that, let it dry at least overnight. Then coat it all with a clear coat. All that's left after that is to put it all back together and find strong neighbors to help you bring it in the house. I happen to have FANTASTIC neighbors.