HOW I PAINTED MY PIANO WITH FUSION MINERAL PAINT

I remember the day my Dad brought our piano home- I was 12 years old, and as soon as I saw it, I hated the colour.  It was an orange piano that looked like it was made of artificial wood.  Apparently, it was a discontinued finish and the store had given my Dad a 50% discount.  I learned to appreciate this piano as my love of music grew.  It saw me through many years of lessons, 4 piano teachers, my own teacher training and several years of teaching my boys and my students.  I made peace with my piano, but I still didn’t love the orangey tone.  I redecorated our living room in light tones in the fall of 2017 and noticed that the piano really looked out of place. In this post, I share with you how I painted my piano with Fusion Mineral Paint.

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Inspiration

A couple years ago, I started seeing photos of painted pianos on Pinterest and Instagram.  The day I saw Julie of The Design Twins paint her piano on an Instagram story, the seed was planted to paint my own piano.  It was around the same time that I discovered Fusion Mineral Paint. I tried it on several small pieces of furniture. Instantly, I fell in love with the minimal prep work, the silky smooth application, the matte finish, and the built-in top coat. I contacted a local Fusion dealer, Sue, from My Painted Door, and asked about the two whites I was interested in- Casement White and Raw Silk. Sue described not just those two whites, but all their shades of white.  I had met a paint soulmate and swiftly ordered a pint.

What is Fusion Mineral Paint?

Fusion is a water based acrylic paint that has been carefully formulated to have a durable finish without the need for a top coat. It is also a non-toxic, environmentally conscious product, having no VOC’s, ammonia, lead, or formaldehyde.  It is self leveling, meaning that brush strokes smooth out resulting in a smooth satiny finish. The coverage is another benefit- the affordable one-pint size covers a large piece of furniture like an armoire, piano, or table.  In addition, it comes in so many glorious colours.

How I painted my piano with Fusion Mineral Paint

Piano Preparation

First, I taped off the keys with painter’s tape and plastic wrap and removed the music ledge to paint separately. Like chalk paint, Fusion requires only minimal prep.  I cleaned the surface first- it is recommended that you use TSP to remove greasy fingerprints and dirt.  Then I gave the piece a light sanding, wiped it clean, and prepped it with a coat of Fusion Ultra Grip.  I did this because I’m a piano teacher and my piano gets several hours of use every day. Additionally, pianos often have a glossy surface and that is specifically what this product is designed for.  The Ultra Grip goes on clear, so if you want to distress the piece after painting, it doesn’t interfere with that. 

Painting

After the Ultra Grip dried overnight, I applied two coats of the Raw Silk. To do this, I used Fusion’s 2” angled brush and worked at my own pace. I actually love this brush so much that I use it for all my painting projects, even walls.  I started with the piano top and worked in long brushstrokes. The paint doesn’t dry as quickly as chalk paint, so it’s fine to brush over areas that were painted a few minutes before.  With chalk paint I find I get visible brushstrokes if I do this, but not with Fusion Paint. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to complete one coat.  Next, I painted the sides, then the front top, and finally the front bottom.  Then I waited overnight before brushing on the second coat.  However, if your piano is quite dark to begin with, you may require three coats. 

Topcoat

For me, an important step in how I painted my piano with Fusion Mineral Paint was the topcoat. Because our piano gets lots of use, I applied clear wax to the surface.  To do this, I took a clean lint free cloth (old sheets cut into 10” squares), dipped the cloth into the wax pot, and applied thin layer.  After about 10 minutes, I took another clean cloth and removed the excess wax, buffing the piano surface in the process.  The wax didn’t really change the appearance of the finish, but did make it more durable and washable. 

One Year Later…

After a year of heavy use, my piano looks the same as the day it was painted, and there is no chipping or weathering.  The part of the piano right in front of the keys can get a little dirty (if my students don’t wash their hands before their lesson), but it easily wipes clean with a soapy wet cloth.  I hope you have enjoyed learning how I painted my piano with Fusion Mineral Paint.

If you love this paint as much as I do, then you can see my related posts, When to Use Chalk Paint, Mineral Paint, and Milk Paint and Easy DIY Painted Terra Cotta Pots.

I love having a painted piano that fits in with the rest of my décor!