Sometimes there’s no better feeling than rolling up your sleeves, cracking open the toolbox and being able to say ‘I did that’ at the end of the day with a brew in hand, but is painting your kitchen cabinets the option for some home DIY considering the high value of the items found there, the critical daily use it receives and the inconveniences of it being out of action for a prolonged period? In this post we’ll explore the benefits of a kitchen respray vs DIY painting.
Preparation
Preparing the kitchen to be painted or sprayed is so important and this part of the transformation process must not be underestimated. The preparation usually takes our spray teams around 70% of the time that has been allocated for them to complete a spray. For example, for a standard 20 cabinet/drawer kitchen, our team would spend about 6 hours properly preparing the surface. Without this prep, any future spraying or painting will likely not bond resulting in warping, bubbling, and peeling.
If surrounding areas are not sufficiently protected, there is the possibility that items such as flooring and worktops may become permanently damaged if the paint touches them.
We are contacted by so many customers who have had a go at painting their kitchens themselves, or have used a company with little experience to refresh their kitchens. Unfortunately, those customers reach out to us as the paint that has been applied has already started to come away, soon after it has been applied. This could be because when it was originally painted, their kitchen was not properly scotched. If the surface is not thoroughly scotched and keyed, paint is not able to properly adhere and so it will not be as durable. Whilst we can usually provide a 10 year guarantee that our coating will not crack, discolour, flake or peel, once a kitchen has been painted, it is not usually possible to provide this guarantee. This is because our coating would not be able to bond to the original surface as it usually would, as the paint in between would act as a barrier. It is possible to sand back the original paint however the surface would then usually need to be primed prior to being sprayed, which doubles the process and the cost. Regrettably, paying cheap usually means paying twice.
Quality of the Finish
Our Spray Technicians are all extremely experienced and knowledgeable. As an example, Daniel, We Spray uPVC’s newest Spray Technician, has over 16 years’ spray painting experience. Our Sprayers, who spray kitchens day in day out using consistent and steady hand movements, are therefore capable of achieving a much better finish than the finish that someone with no or little DIY experience can achieve. Our teams also use state of the art spray equipment to accomplish a perfect finish, whereas a novice using budget equipment may unfortunately encounter more complications.
If a kitchen is spray painted by a skilful Sprayer, the finish will be smooth and uniform. On the other hand, if a kitchen is hand painted, there may be brush strokes, bubble spots, drips and other blemishes. It is still possible for hand painting to result in a good finish however the person applying the paint must have a lot of patience, time and skill.
Post Spray Work
After completing a spray, our teams complete a full and thorough check of the kitchen that has been sprayed. Any items that have not taken as expected will be resprayed and touched up as needed. Our teams also carry out an additional check with our customers, to ensure that all items to be sprayed have been sprayed as expected. As mentioned above, the experience that our Spray Technicians have built up over the years means that they have learnt many lessons from their past mistakes. Because of this, it is rare for issues to arise during these checks as our Sprayers know exactly what they are doing and so completing a kitchen spray just comes naturally to them.
Time and Effort Saved
Good Housekeeping estimates that to paint your kitchen yourself, you need to budget at least 40 hours. Most of the kitchen sprays that our teams complete take 1-2 days (approximately 9-18 hours). With very large kitchens, kitchens that are being sprayed in dual colours or kitchens that need to be primed prior to being sprayed, the spray can take 3 days however 95% of kitchen resprays do take just 1-2 days. Our spray teams also use rapid hardener and rocket when spraying kitchens and this reduces the drying time.
With kitchens being such an important room of a home, we understand that our customers want their kitchens back as soon as possible and so to take over 40 hours to complete a DIY paint job, especially if those hours are to be scheduled around work hours and possibly only at the weekends, would mean so much more disruption to family life.
Cost-Effectiveness
Whilst painting your own kitchen may appear to be a cost-effective alternative to a professional kitchen respray, a professional kitchen spray is likely to be better value for money in the long term. We guarantee that our coating will last for at least 10 years after it has been applied. It is unlikely for DIY paint to last for such a long duration. As mentioned above, we are contacted by so many customers who have attempted to paint their kitchen and sadly the paint has started to come away. Those customers then end up paying more than had they utilised our services to complete the spray in the first place, as they pay for the equipment and materials to complete the spray themselves initially and then also pay us to rectify the issues and respray their kitchen.
Although we offer a 10 year guarantee, it is rare for us to ever need to return to a customer because our coating is so durable.
Increased Property Value
Having kitchen cabinets that look new and up-to-date can make a positive impression on potential buyers or renters. It is said that modernising your kitchen can increase your home’s value by as much as 5% to 10% and it is therefore one of the worthiest home improvements to consider! As such, we recommend carefully considering your kitchen transformation project to weigh up the pros and cons of having your kitchen professionally resprayed versus painting it yourself. As of December 2022, the average house price is £294,329 and with our kitchen spraying prices starting from £850 plus VAT, the expense of a professional spray is extremely reasonable when you consider the value that it could add to your property.
Conclusion
Doing DIY around the house is a good option in many circumstances, saving you money as well as being enjoyable. If your kitchen walls need a fresh lick of paint, that may be a task to consider taking on yourself however we firmly believe that kitchen cabinets are a job best left to the professionals. We recommend that you take into account the factors mentioned above as well as the cost of specialist equipment, the quality of the finish that can be achieved, the impact on your house’s value, and the time the transformation would take.
If you have any queries relating to a kitchen transformation, please get in touch with our team.
