Painting a Piano- help!

steve.p · Post by **steve.p** » 17 Jan 2005, 13:14

Hi. I have a small stromenger? upright piano which is looking a bit tired so im tidying it up. I have stripped most of the wood down to paint but realised i dont know what to paint it with. It had a satin black finish (not sure if original). It appears to be a very thin paint but im not 100% sure. I have tried all the usual shops and websites to find a suitable paint but i cannot find anything at all. Does anyone know where i can find piano paint?

I would really appreciate any help as the piano is in a right mess

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 17 Jan 2005, 21:31

We don’t paint pianos they are polished or sprayed

What you will have to do first is decide if you want Mat or Gloss finish then go and buy some black paint and apply very thin coats sanding on each coat but you will find that you will have to do a lot of filling on the case to get a smooth finish

Mat is more forgiving than Gloss

Barrie,

steve.p · Post by **steve.p** » 19 Jan 2005, 17:30

Think that may have saved my piano. Any ideas where i can buy the spray?

Thanks again, steve

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 19 Jan 2005, 17:45

It is not as simple as that you will need a spray booth and all the equipment you would be better trying your hand at French polishing, there are many good books in the Library on French polishing. Or use ordinary mat black paint but there is a lot of work involved

Barrie,

steve.p · Post by **steve.p** » 20 Jan 2005, 11:17

I have spraying equipment (air compressor, spray gun etc) in my garage. Is the paint the same as used on cars?

The intial plan was to strip and french polish it but the paint is impossible to remove form the crevices in the wood. Its tough stuff for sure.

Thanks

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 20 Jan 2005, 19:44

Cellulose with a black stain in it is the most common just like cars it is all in the prep work on how good a finish you get this is a good place to buy on line
www.rydenor.co.uk

Barrie,

steve.p · Post by **steve.p** » 28 Jan 2005, 14:01

Thanks for the advice, im going to give a go this weekend. Is J.Strohmenger a make worth bothering with though?