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I installed a new pre-hung interior door along with new trim. The door was maybe $50 and trim maybe another $100. Very affordable, and all pre-primed.

Still, I spent hours and hours (and hours) painting all the trim and the door. And even then I'm left with brush marks and the door likely needs one more coat.

Given I have several more rooms and 7 more doors, I'm realizing I just don't have the time to devote to all this painting anymore.

Option 1 was to invest in an airless professional spray system...I think they run about $500. I'm all for new toys, but that'd still take a chunk of time to set everything up and mask off the garage or where ever I am spraying.

So I was thinking of an option 2: buy materials, buy paint, then take to a place that is already set up for this type of work and just pay someone to do it fast for me.

But I'm not even sure if this type of business/service exists. Would a cabinetry firm handle/want this type of work? Is there a different type of business I could contact that would do this type of work? (Is this maybe a business idea I should look into!?)

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A Painter. – Tester101♦ Sep 5 '12 at 19:00
ha! Yes true. That makes sense. Do a lot of painters pre-paint materials for you (sprayed in a shop?) I don't necessarily need (or want them) out to the house to paint after installation. – DA01 Sep 5 '12 at 19:11
I'd call a couple and ask. One of them is bound to have a shop/garage/house, where they can take the stuff to paint it. – Tester101♦ Sep 5 '12 at 19:18
BTDT. If you have the pieces painted remotely and then install them, they will be damaged/scuffed/marred during installation. Touch up will still be required. Have the painter come out and paint them in place after installation. – The Evil Greebo Sep 6 '12 at 12:29
I'm cool with filling nail holes and scuffs. The main concern about having the painter in the house is 1) expenses (I assume it's more expensive to hand paint in place than in a spray booth) and 2) our house isn't big and the rooms are cramped. I'd then be trading painting for furniture moving. ;) – DA01 Sep 6 '12 at 15:51

1 Answer

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Sounds reasonable to out-source it, but you will still need to do a final coat on the casing after you install (door should be fine if you are careful).

To "do it right", you need to fill the nail holes and corner joints and sand, and then run a bead of painters caulk around the casing to make the cracks disappear, then paint again.

I just did the caulk on the inside (casing-to-jamb) not the outside (casing-to-wall), and didn't paint very far onto the side of the casing where it hits the wall. This way, you get a nice sharp line at the wall without a lot of hassle.

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