In June 2014, I found a blue piano on Craigslist for $100. I had never worked on a large furniture project before. What did I know about restoring a piano? | After a month of being listed online, I decided to contact the seller. He didn't return my call immediately, so I assumed it had already been purchased. He called a week later, told me it was available and asked if I wanted to see it... |
Here is what I saw. The piano was built in 1906 and looked liked it had seen better days... This Upright Sherman piano had Ivory keys but they had been chipped, were missing, or had been drawn on.
The inside was full of barbie shoes, empty plastic easter eggs, old McDonald's toys, dust, loose change and probably a spider or two.
I didn't own a truck but the seller was a professional mover. He had purchased this blue piano from a neighbor who had moved a year earlier. He had intended to restore it but never had the chance. For $20 extra, he delivered it to my house.
The inside was full of barbie shoes, empty plastic easter eggs, old McDonald's toys, dust, loose change and probably a spider or two.
I didn't own a truck but the seller was a professional mover. He had purchased this blue piano from a neighbor who had moved a year earlier. He had intended to restore it but never had the chance. For $20 extra, he delivered it to my house.
After six hours, this is what it looked like... A sticky ugly mess!
Some people had suggested I repaint it because it would hide the mess... I could have used chalk paint on the first day and ended up with at least a normal non-blue non-hippy flower power piano, but I refused. Chalk paint shouldn't be used on antiques like this!
I could see the beauty underneath all the layers of paint and grime.
I could see the beauty underneath all the layers of paint and grime.
Two coats of Red Mahogany stain and two coats of Satin polyurethane later, this is the final product! And instead of being banished to various playrooms where children stuffed it with old toys and candy wrappers, it is back to where it belongs... in a family home where it can be played!
I removed all the chipped ivory fronts and replaced them with faux-Ivory fronts. No need to kill any elephants for this piano restoration!
I cleaned the original ivory with a razor blade and sanded them smooth... I want to repaint the worn ebony keys. I bet hundreds of hands have played these keys over the years!
Replacing the key fronts was VERY easy. Easiest part of the work! A total of about 20 minutes of sanding and gluing.
I cleaned the original ivory with a razor blade and sanded them smooth... I want to repaint the worn ebony keys. I bet hundreds of hands have played these keys over the years!
Replacing the key fronts was VERY easy. Easiest part of the work! A total of about 20 minutes of sanding and gluing.
I want to polish the brass pedals.
Look at that detail! How could someone paint this bright blue?
Each detail section took me about 2-3 hours to scrape. I used wire brushes and little dental-like picks to get into the details.
Something about this piano spoke to me... I felt like the spirit of the piano was saying "I've been treated with such disrespect... I've had my keys damaged, I've been filled with garbage, I've been painted silly colors... Make me beautiful again!"
In total, there was about 70-80 hours spent on this project.
The piano cost me $120
Supplies were probably around $100
But in the end, I believe that the spirit of this piano is happy. It is not stuffed in a garage anymore. It won't need to be scraped, painted, sanded, picked at...
It is a truly beautiful piece of furniture. I am glad I rescued it.
If you notice closely, you can see little bits of blue left in the wood underneath the stain. I think it gives it character. I hope my great grandchildren will be playing this piano.
Now, the only question is what to do with the black enameled piano bench it came with? I have wondered about buying an antique piano bench, but I think I will give this piece a new life. It is covered in paint flecks, has some chips, etc. I am thinking I will reupholster it, make it comfortable, and then it will be rescued too. The seller gave me the mismatched bench for free---he said he had found it in the garbage.
Another project for another day.
Each detail section took me about 2-3 hours to scrape. I used wire brushes and little dental-like picks to get into the details.
Something about this piano spoke to me... I felt like the spirit of the piano was saying "I've been treated with such disrespect... I've had my keys damaged, I've been filled with garbage, I've been painted silly colors... Make me beautiful again!"
In total, there was about 70-80 hours spent on this project.
The piano cost me $120
Supplies were probably around $100
But in the end, I believe that the spirit of this piano is happy. It is not stuffed in a garage anymore. It won't need to be scraped, painted, sanded, picked at...
It is a truly beautiful piece of furniture. I am glad I rescued it.
If you notice closely, you can see little bits of blue left in the wood underneath the stain. I think it gives it character. I hope my great grandchildren will be playing this piano.
Now, the only question is what to do with the black enameled piano bench it came with? I have wondered about buying an antique piano bench, but I think I will give this piece a new life. It is covered in paint flecks, has some chips, etc. I am thinking I will reupholster it, make it comfortable, and then it will be rescued too. The seller gave me the mismatched bench for free---he said he had found it in the garbage.
Another project for another day.