Business Startup - Kitchen Spraying
Discussion
OK - I've found myself at a possible career change point and have been weighing up options.
One of the most viable so far seems to be kitchen spraying / refurbishment.
We're having ours redone currently and i've watched a handful of videos etc and it seems to be straightforward. Most of the "spraying" is taking the doors off site, then rollering / hand painting the chassis in situ.
I've done some initial investigation RE: processes, undercoats, paints, equipment and I'm not seeing anything off putting.
Seems to pay relatively well. Have access to a good sized garage to set up as a spray booth, spray equipment doesnt seem expensive. Loads of videos to watch / forums to read up on. Was thinking of getting a few door fronts / units to practice on. Also there seem to be formal courses can be done on furniture / kitchen spray painting - not too long, couple of days.
From what i can see, theres also bedroom built in units that people want re-sprayed also, and often items of furniture.
If i take this further, next step would be to buy a decent sprayer (£400 ish) then practice on some units. The rest of it (painting / rollering the chassis) seems to be standard DIY stuff. From there advertising for furniture respraying and kitchen respraying and go from there. A small van to move the doors etc about seems to be fine.
Might be slower than the pros at first but speed would improve with experience.
Any done / doing similar and / or can see any massive holes in my theory?
One of the most viable so far seems to be kitchen spraying / refurbishment.
We're having ours redone currently and i've watched a handful of videos etc and it seems to be straightforward. Most of the "spraying" is taking the doors off site, then rollering / hand painting the chassis in situ.
I've done some initial investigation RE: processes, undercoats, paints, equipment and I'm not seeing anything off putting.
Seems to pay relatively well. Have access to a good sized garage to set up as a spray booth, spray equipment doesnt seem expensive. Loads of videos to watch / forums to read up on. Was thinking of getting a few door fronts / units to practice on. Also there seem to be formal courses can be done on furniture / kitchen spray painting - not too long, couple of days.
From what i can see, theres also bedroom built in units that people want re-sprayed also, and often items of furniture.
If i take this further, next step would be to buy a decent sprayer (£400 ish) then practice on some units. The rest of it (painting / rollering the chassis) seems to be standard DIY stuff. From there advertising for furniture respraying and kitchen respraying and go from there. A small van to move the doors etc about seems to be fine.
Might be slower than the pros at first but speed would improve with experience.
Any done / doing similar and / or can see any massive holes in my theory?
I think it has great potential. If you're doing the doors off site, it doesn't really matter how long it takes (within reason!) - and when you're on site you can just be the careful guy who takes his time.
Will you also take away drawers?
I can't imagine the materials will be particularly expensive.
Why not spray the cabinets (fronts) on site?
Upsell new handles.
Will you also take away drawers?
I can't imagine the materials will be particularly expensive.
Why not spray the cabinets (fronts) on site?
Upsell new handles.
Edited by The Moose on Wednesday 19th February 20:30
Simpo Two said:
It would be a lot easier just to do the doors. The cabinets will need cleaning (they could be really grubby inside) and subsequent paint could get scratched or chipped leading to complaints. Other than that, it could work well if you're efficient and professional.
From what i can see, they only do the outside surfaces, so they dont touch the insides. I saw one site for a company that offer three levels - - doors and drawer fronts only,
- doors, drawer fronts and all external surfaces (not worktops),
- and then the highest level included repainting the insides too.
Any i've seen - videos and what these guys are doing for us - they dont even remove the kitchen contents.
Rewe said:
We had someone in to paint some bedroom cabinets and drawers in chalky paint. She did it with a brush in situ while we were at work. I don’t remember how much she charged, but I was happy to pay.
It seemed like a business with low overheads and little competition.
Yes, thats whats appealing to me - it took us ages to find guys to do it, they were booked out for 4 weeks in advance and seem to have 3-4 kitchens on the go at once.It seemed like a business with low overheads and little competition.
They operate from a business unit in an industrial estate but i've a big garage i can use. Basically you set up a spraying area and a drying area, spray one door at a time then move it to the drying area (having cleaned, degreased, sanded and primed it first).
So my overheads would be close to nil.
Transportation wise, i'd flog my own car and get a VW Caddy or Citroen Berlingo with the money and drive it.
The Moose said:
I think it has great potential. If you're doing the doors off site, it doesn't really matter how long it takes (within reason!) - and when you're on site you can just be the careful guy who takes his time.
Will you also take away drawers?
I can't imagine the materials will be particularly expensive.
Why not spray the cabinets (fronts) on site?
Upsell new handles.
If you can get the drawer fronts off then yes you take them too. Often they are on different fixings or glued on. There doesnt seem to be an issue rollering them if needs be.Will you also take away drawers?
I can't imagine the materials will be particularly expensive.
Why not spray the cabinets (fronts) on site?
Upsell new handles.
Edited by The Moose on Wednesday 19th February 20:30
Spraying in situ is an option but a world of time is then spent masking off the surrouding area and dust sheeting. I see another outfit did it all from a high topped transit van in your driveway (ie, took the doors and drawers out there to do).
Will be checking out paint prices tomorrow. Really good undercoat is key and it appears to be "expensive", but i dont know what that translates to in terms of £s. Other than that its down to getting your paint mixed to the colour the customer has asked for - Dulux do a range of paint for it so its easy got. Though i'll see what these guys paint ours with.
New handles - yes the trick there is if handles are being replaced, find ones with the same gap between holes, so if its a three inch handle, then replace with a new three inch handle. Means no wallying about filling in holes etc.
The guy today was very chatty about what they do. They also upsell to spray other furniture in the house (often people will ask) and they also do bathroom cabinets and bedroom built in wardrobes / units.
The guy today was saying the door fronts take around a day to spray - the actual time involved is minimal, maybe an hour odd to do them all he reckons but you're waiting on paint to dry which takes 1-2 hours between coats. Thats what makes me think they have several kitchens on the go at once. I'd say you could do two a week if you put your mind to it.
Cost wise, we're being charged £800 to do ours. If they can do two a week each and theres two of them at it, thats a fair amount of money coming in.
Even if initially i was doing one a week until i got up to speed, its still enough to keep me ticking over until business builds.
A really go pro / small business spray gun is around £500 new. They can be got second hand for around £250-300.
I think next steps would be get a gun and then attempt to paint some stuff with it. I've a s
tty old desk in the garage would be the first candidate, then theres a local auction always has crappy tables and stuff that goes for a couple of pounds. If i could get kitchen doors from a dump or whatever that would be good also.
I think next steps would be get a gun and then attempt to paint some stuff with it. I've a s
tty old desk in the garage would be the first candidate, then theres a local auction always has crappy tables and stuff that goes for a couple of pounds. If i could get kitchen doors from a dump or whatever that would be good also.Thesprucegoose said:
or a mobile spray tent.
The on site option holds appeal but ultimately means you're there doing that one thing and waiting on paint drying. Granted, you'd nip in and out and do the other bits between coats but doing it back at base potentially means you could have two kitchens on the go at once.Simpo Two said:
The Moose said:
Why not spray the cabinets (fronts) on site?
In the customer's house? It could be a world of H&S pain. At best he'd need a mobile spray van like alloy wheel repairers - again more H&S. At this stage simple is best I feel.
I just don't see how you will get such a nice finish? Or is the idea that because you won't see it as clearly, it's less of an issue?
nomad5 said:
If you can get the drawer fronts off then yes you take them too. Often they are on different fixings or glued on. There doesnt seem to be an issue rollering them if needs be.
Can you not just take the whole drawer unit away with you? I would have thought the finish would then be different to the cupboard doors if not?The Moose said:
We looked at doing something similar not that long ago and I just had a look around again and found these photos:
I just don't see how you will get such a nice finish? Or is the idea that because you won't see it as clearly, it's less of an issue?
I think the paint they are using finishes well even with a roller, but yes its down to the surfaces being rollered not being directly in your line of sight.I just don't see how you will get such a nice finish? Or is the idea that because you won't see it as clearly, it's less of an issue?
Will be interesting to see how ours turns out. From what i've seen so far i can definitely replicate their standard of work (albeit perhaps slower initially).
I guess its down to where i want to go from there - upmarket, charge more, go full pro spraying but take longer, or stick with the middle ground.
They're replacing a vinyl wrap on our kitchen so it wasnt fantastic to begin with. Likewise i guess for a lot of houses you're respraying maybe some older style oak units so you're going to get a wow factor anyway.
The Moose said:
nomad5 said:
If you can get the drawer fronts off then yes you take them too. Often they are on different fixings or glued on. There doesnt seem to be an issue rollering them if needs be.
Can you not just take the whole drawer unit away with you? I would have thought the finish would then be different to the cupboard doors if not?Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff