Piano Project

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 In an unexpected series of events, I got a free piano.

There had been an upright piano on the Behavioral Health unit where I work, but because it had metal wires--making it a safety issue for patients who will diligently find a way to harm themselves--it had to be kept locked in a meeting room. It wasn't bothering anyone there, but once we started having morning rounds in-person again, the room was becoming quite crowded. Piano needed to go, I offered to take it, and voila, piano.

Obviously in need of some elbow grease

It actually hasn't yet left the building; I just moved it from the meeting room into my office one floor up [thank goodness for elevators. also for easy-going officemates]. 

exhibit A: laminate
Once that was done, I consulted the World Wide Web for DIY piano renovations and related questions, which is how I learned that those piano keys are not ivory. I started disassembling it a piece at a time, taking home some of them, partly so that I could consult Mark, but also so that I could start fiddling with it and figuring out how to make it look nice.

The options for piano reno are basically either stain or paint. I got the feeling that painting a piano was considered blasphemous, but considering that Mark and I figured out my piano was covered in laminate rather than real wood, painting was the only option.

Apologies to any religious piano zealots.

Technically, choosing to paint meant that more colors were available to make the piano's new look, but I'm not a terribly creative or courageous person, so I chose black. 

the fascinating interior


And thus work began.

  • wipe down and vacuum out all the dust, wrappers, paper clips, puzzle pieces, and other detritus
  • tape off the delicate innards of the piano
  • patch up the cracks and missing chunks with plastic wood filler
  • sand the exterior
  • apply the primer
  • apply paint. apply paint again. 
  • brush on the polycrylic finish. do it again. maybe even do it a third time
  • reassemble the piano
  • do touch-up stuff on all the dents and scratches you caused from reassembling the piano
  • get new knobs
  • paint on the manufacturer's name with a cool nail-polish color

My "game plan" was cobbled together from various blogs, WikiHow, cabinet reno sites, and my brain, so I'm not quite sure if everything I did was strictly necessary.




Which means that it's possible the process would go faster if I did it again.

Am I happy with the results? Absolutely. Would I do it again? 

Um, not willingly. Ask me again in 5 years.

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 22, 2022 at 10:16 AM

    You are awesome and so is the piano!! Now that it looks fabulous your workplace may decide to keep it! 😲

    ReplyDelete

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