I've had several inquiries from customers to paint their kitchen cabinets on site but I've never attempted it before and would really appreciate any help. All the painting I've done before has been using conversion varnish and done in shop.

Good airless sprayer for the job?
Best paint for the work?
What tip size?
Thinning?
Best tape and plastic for protecting ceilings, walls, floors?
Any tips you can think of would be helpful.
Videos you'd suggest?
Thanks in advance.

I can try to help you
That's what I do 50% of my time
As far as protecting walls,floors,etc
Blue masking tape and get the purple one also that's for delicate surfaces
When masking off,use the paper roll
Stay away from the plastic one
When paint gets on it and dries,it starts to flake off
The paper absords the paint but does not bleeds through
I use Zip-Wall poles system you can use any plastic sheets
I get the 9 x 12 size, seems to work pretty good
I have about 8-10 drop cloth that I use on floor, countertops
For ventilation,I have one of those utility fan with a 16' collapse sleeve hose( high cfm!)
As far as spray equipment I use a AAA pump
I have the CAT 14-1 peak pump with the cougar gun with a 411 tip
Love it! I get very little over spray
I have a lot of control on spray pattern and how much material that comes out
I use ML Campbell to refinish my jobs
Whether I use a pre-cat like magna max or a CV I always use a white vinyl primer
I just got to tried their newest CV call Turino and really like it
It has a 24 hours pot life and a very low odor
Very helpful when spraying on site
As far as thinning,I use flow enhancer (5-10% mix ratio)
But I don't use any of those finish on jobs that has been painted with latex or oil
Unless I sand the finish totally off
Hope this helps and good luck

Thanks mastercabman. I use MLC products also and have a CAT 14:1 AAA system. How do you provide enough air to run the system??

Seems like we think alike!

I have a couple of compressor
I have the rolair vt 25 a 2.5 hp that puts out a lot of cfm
It is heavy but on wheels but it is kind of loud
The other is a california air tool
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SOD08M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_TX7AJFW2NCTEGD056WKR?
_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
A little heavy,no wheels but very quiet
Puts out good amount of cfm but not as much as my rolair

Not to intrude but, where are you guys finding these re-paint customers? I was all about getting into that, ran a cgslst trade ad, not a single response!

Thanks guys!!!

Joel, my jobs are coming mostly from customers that we built kitchens for years ago and are ready for a new look.

Question for mastercabman....

are you using one of the compressors for spray gun and one for the material pump, or just one compressor only??

Stan
I just use 1 compressor
Most pump don't use as much air like your standard spray guns
I was told when I got my CAT pump that it will run on one of those Porter and Cable pancake compressor but I'm having doubt about that claim!

Joel

First thing first
In my first reply,I stated that it is only 50% of my time so this is is not a full time job
So there's not a whole lot of jobs like that and I'm not cheap!
I get a lot of clients from a real estate agent
You may want to contact some of them
Just think about it
A couple buys an older home with upgraded granite tops but they don't like the stained cabinets and don't want to redo the whole kitchen out!?!
That's where I come in!

That rolair 2.5 makes the most cfm of any 120 volt compressor l know of and will run any small volume AAA no problem
Once you get a established reputation as a good on site refinisher you will be turning away more work then you do. Spread the wood with your suppliers, paint stores and remodel contractors that you do this type of work.
In my 40 plus years of finishing, l've done a lot of refinishing on site. I prefer to work in the shop but about 1 week a month l find myself working on site.
This is how l go about it;
The most important thing that will determine how you go about the job are your customer's needs, or in other words will the house be occupied or empty...of course empty is ideal. Occupied will complicate and add time to the job.
To eliminate the fire hazard l only spray WBs on site...l will also brush oil-based enamel /varnish if that's what they want.
1) cover, mask floors & countertops and set-up portable construction walls
2) remove doors & drawer fronts, mark door/drawerfront and location with corresponding #(Hopefully hinges are blums or silaches) remove hinges from doors mark the hinge with door # and either top or bottom. Remove hinge plate, l scribe a line at the top and bottom of the plate before removing so it goes back exactly where it was. Check to see if drawer fronts are stapled and screwed or just screwed...more work if they are both. I find the more accurate your labeling the easier your job will be on the re-install
Take the doors and drawer fronts to the shop.
Clean & degrease
Caulk and fill as necessary
Mask off cabinet interior and perimeters
Spray primer
Spot fill as necessary
Sand
Spot prime
Apply 2 coats finish
Oftentimes l also spray a clear coat over WB pigmented fnish to add durability and a smoother feel.
Remove cabinet masking
Touch-up
Re-install doors drawer fronts and apply new bumpers
Remove floor and countertop masking and construction walls
Clean-up
Get check
For pigmented jobs lve been using Chemcraft's Aqua-set for finishing over pre cat or CV ( mostly because l can get it locally.
I spray it on site with a Graco hvlp turbine set-up, it works great. In the shop, l spray it with a pot & gun set-up
For clear finish jobs l really like Old Masters Armor; the stuff is tough, you can catalyze it to make it tougher, it's easy for me to get, sprays easy, will go over anything and it's water white. Onsite l spray with the turbine set-up. In the shop, pot & gun.
If l'm finishing over house paint; l've been using Dunn Edward's Aristoshield, the stuff is the best house paint l've used...oil modified acrylic urethane. Brushes and sprays well, good adhesion and it's tough once cured. I spray with a airless both in the shop & on site. I have one of those little Graco GX19 pumps with the hopper. I use a graco 410 low pressure fine finish tip, these work great. I have yet to spray out of a AAA since my 2 AAA pumps are dedicated for solvent finishes.

Thanks for the tips. I hate pounding the pavement but if I gotta...
A small tip for you: TSP granules soaked in water is where it's at for cleaning/degreasing doors and DF. No scrubbing at all and get's even the worst things clean easily.

I've been cleaning and degrease by spraying dirtex on then scrubbing with a maroon scotch brite pad then wiping clean with a rag. This system has worked without issue for me for 30 + years. That said you do need to pay attention that you are doing a thorough job but it does get both your cleaning and scuffing done at the same time.

PS; just in case you are the rare worker who doesn't own one... one tool that is necessary when working on-site is a festool or similar vacuum and sanding set-up.

Yes dust extractor are huge plus

Also I just got my surf prep sander not too long ago and it is a game changer!

As far as cleaning doors and drawers, cabinets,I use Naphtha
It clean,removes wax and grease and it dries fast

I was wondering what water base products you would recommend for doing the on site finishing?
I am fairly new to water base and have sprayed some sayerlack wb in a booth. I have only ever used Krystal from Ml Campbell but in a booth.
A lot of the solvent based products can only be sprayed in a booth and not on site in my area.

For those who do a lot of onsite spraying in colder climates, do you worry about your exhaust fan depressurizing the house too much and causing issues with combustion heating systems? Or are the fans you're using not powerful enough to do this?