Has anyone hired a paint sprayer to do a kitchen?

[Aintnobodygottime]

I’m really keen to redo our kitchen cupboards. We’ve got quite a few! The quotes I’ve had for a professional company are coming it at £1500 which is beyond me so I’m wondering just how doable it would be to rent a sprayer and do it ourselves. The machines look a bit scary!

Has anyone done this? How tricky was it? What tips do you have?

Can’t really advise as I’ve not tried it myself, but interested to know too as I’m thinking of doing the same.

Paint warrior on YouTube has some great vids on spray jobs he does, so worth a watch. Seems to be using zinser allcoat much of the time.

Weirdly a friend has just had hers sprayed - honestly they look fantastic! One thing she mentioned was she did think the price was high (think she paid £2k ish), until she saw the amount of prep the chap did on all of the cupboards / exposed bits, and the finish is absolutely flawless tbh. I think she also has a 10 year warranty for chips / defects - I’m considering it now rather than a kitchen redo, it looked that good.

I just don’t have the money to get someone in or I’d do that in a flash. It’s DIY here or nothing I’m afraid.

Oh sorry, I meant that more in terms of make sure you do loads of prep!! Everything was cleaned a few times, any dings / dents were filled and everything was sanded down, primer applied etc.

Thanks. :-) I wish we could just get some people in. I’m preparing to spend a fortnight doing what the companies do in a day or so!

Are your cupboards wood? I hand brush painted a wooden kitchen 5 years ago and it still looks great and no chips etc. plus I have 2 crazy dogs and a toddler!

I used a sprayer to paint ours and it was a killer.
it was a new kitchen so needed primer then sanding, then primer, then sanding, then a coat of colour, then sanding where the sprayer spat dribbles of paint, then a layer of colour, then sanding where dusty bits stuck to it, then painting again. Then turn the door over and do the other side. Then the edges. When I tried to reattach them the doors had swollen from the wet paint. So more sanding required. Plus all the frame bits and the kick boards and the bits round the top.
It. Was. Painfullllllll. And such a pain in the arse trying to keep spray paint off everything else, I ended up buying a painting tent too.
i gave up half way and paid somebody to finish it. It looks really good but don’t underestimate how much time it will take you to get a good finish. If you have patience and time you’ll be fine. I ran out of both 🤣

@TwoeightTwoeightTwoOhhhh that does sound painful!

@blackbadger yes, they are wood cabinets. Shaker but quite clean lines other than that. I’m coming round to thinking brush/roller feels a better option than tangling with a sprayer, but maybe I’m being risk averse?

Get something like this, a load of masking tape and newspaper, and let us know how you get on

www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-eps800-800w-electric-sprayer-240v/559kr

And yes to what a pp said about prep; clean and sand really well. Personally I thin you can go a long way using a roller and brush for much of the job, but spray is definitely going to be better for doors.

Thank you. That looks relatively unscary. I was assuming we’d remove the doors rather than do it in situ although it would be amazing not to have to.

I’m thinking it may also be worth hiring or investing in a cheap sander!

I’d remove the doors as it normally quite easy.

With sanding you shouldn’t need to do too much as you’re just trying to get a key for the paint, doesn’t take much effort by hand.
The cleaning is possibly more important- sugar soap is a good idea.

Noted. I have sugar soap already, standing by.

We bought a cheap DIY sprayer to do wardrobes. You have to dilute the paint to exactly the right consistency - too runny or too thick or too much and it runs. It was much quicker than rolling, but also noisier, messier and way more annoying. Less time painting, but more time prepping and faffing.

Personally I'd use a mini sponge roller, especially if you are just doing the doors. Brush round the inside edge of the shaker frame first then the roller will do the rest, including the edges. Pay a lot of attention to avoiding paint gathering at the corners into drips, whether you are brushing, rolling or spraying.

If you have a garden, consider spraying the doors outside but be wary of bugs etc on that wet paint. Use a good primer. Taking the doors off kitchen cabinets is not too tricky and well worth mastering. I tend to balance the doors on food tins or loo rolls while the edges are drying (we have painted a LOT of wardrobes in the last few years!)

Just as@Antonania has suggested; I used a two inch sponge roller to do mine and a soft brush. Just remember to sand in between coats and it’ll look good. Also, use a decent paint and primer. I can’t recommend Farrow and Ball Dead Flat enough. It stays on brilliantly and gives a good finish.

We actually bought a sprayer to decorate an entire house - and I still went with a small foam roller to do the kitchen cabinets. I'm exhausted tonight but if you're interested I can post pics tomorrow with the paint I used - have been over the moon with the results and how long it has lasted without chips.

Surely it’s cheaper to just replace the door and drawer fronts?

DS's fiancee has recently hand-painted their kitchen units and they look amazing!

The tips are greatly appreciated, thanks all, and I’d love to see the pictures, @Mmmkaay.

@Beachbodyready we’ve got wooden doors so replacing them would mean getting less solid ones and it would still cost a lot more than even the professional paint spray. A rough estimate of new painted doors I just did is around 3k from an online kitchen company.

I considered doing it, but just couldn't face it. I hate painting. The quotes to do it were expensive as well.
In the end, I had someone out to replace the cabinet doors only. I added new soft close hinges and hardware. It looks fantastic, and ended up being only about 30% more than a re-paint of the old doors.

Use frenchic Al fresco paint. Either use a microfiber roller or their brush is v good. If you join the official frenchic fb group you'll be able to see all of the kitchens. I did mine and my mum did hers. Just amazing. I think I spent £50 on the paint for mine and my mum maybe have spent £100 as her kitchen is a lot bigger than mine

Painting, toddlers and dogs isn't really Recommended!!

Have you considered using any Sloan chalk paint? I haven't used on my kitchen cupboards because I need to replace the kitchen but I use it on a lot of other furniture.

I’ve chalk painted some things but it doesn’t feel robust enough for kitchen doors.

Luckily I have neither toddlers nor dogs. So just paint to worry about!