Air Brushing – Air Brush

Question:

Hi everyone, I’m new in this NG. I’m not trying to discourage anyone about air-brush repair business; however, I just want to add my two-cent in this thread. Instead spending times to scratching your head and pulling your hair to com up with a business plan to repair the air-brush and compressor to make only extra few dolars more, why don’t you spend that times to think about designing airbrush using materials that are easier to maintain by the artist at lower price and can operate without an expensive air compressor ? I know there are several types of machinable pastic with very good dimensional stability and low surface energy (acrylic paint won’t stick on to it and resistant to solvent) like PEEK, delrin, torlon ..etc… and many different types of air pellet are curently using for air-gun …etc … Please feel free to comment and/or adding your idea. DN

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Diode" wrote… I should have been more clear on the fact that it would be a part time business.  I know that I couldn’t make a living at it.  I thought with the price of top line brushes being around $300 (US), people would rather have them fixed than replace them.  Ken nailed it…I would have targeted the nail salons, make up people and maybe auto body shops that do custom graphics as possible customers.  Round trip shipping by UPS would only be $10-$15 (maybe less).  Assume $15 in shipping for the moment…Also assume that you didn’t know one end of the brush from the other when it comes to repair )  In your case, that would be 15 for shipping. Actual parts cost is 2.59 for the tip, 3.45 for the needle, so I mark it up a bit…call it another 15.  Plus 25 for my time.  That comes out to $55.  If you couldn’t/wouldn’t do it yourself, would you rather pay $55 for the repair, or buy a new one? OK, you do realize that the amounts that I used were hypothetical? Although I did fuck up my VL. (Don’t ask!) Having said that, I suppose that IF ….. I couldn’t fix a $300 brush and it would cost only a fraction to have it repaired and that brush was my livelihood, then YES, I would send it in to be repaired. OTOH, how many circumstances like that exist and what percentage of those do you think that you’d get the business for?   Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to discourage you but trying to give you things to consider. Things that you’ll need to know the answers to IF you need to borrow money for this venture. Ken is right, you should put a business plan together. Whether you’re borrowing money or not.  Some research may be a wise choice as well.  I’d be interested in knowing who’s your competition?  What do they charge? How many airbrushes were sold annually for the past 5 or 10 years and what percentage of those are replacements.   That last part may be hard to find out but you get the point. Good luck to ya. — hawgeye AH96  BS98 SenS CtNs www.hawgeye.com www.stealer-dealer.com

Response:

Get good at painting and make a business from that Paul. — http://www.littlemisspinup.com http://www.paulcorfield.com

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – "Diode" wrote… I’d like your opinion on starting a part time business repairing airbrushes and compressors.  I owned my own business for 10 years so I familiar with the complexities of running one. snip So, do you think that it’s a viable business?  Is there enough work out there to make it worthwhile?   Do you know of anybody else that has done this?  Of course, I have no plans of competing with what you’re doing  Thanks Ken (and anybody else that wants to jump in here). I’m not Ken nor do I play him on TV but I’ll throw my opinion in anyway. Unless you plan on subsidizing the business with something else like art supply sales, then you’ll be out of business before you know it. Airbrushes are fairly cheap to buy, they’re almost disposable. The cost for shipping, parts and labor to fix an airbrush isn’t really worth it for the consumer. For example, I fucked up my VL this past weekend.  It needs a new tip assembly and needle.  Probably $15 in parts from Dixie plus $15 for S&H. Now if I were to send it to you to fix what would it cost me?  $30 for round trip shipping, $30 for parts (you’d be crazy not to have a mark-up) plus $30 for your time?  I can almost buy a new one for that kind of money. Don’t get me wrong, wanting to help people and make a few $$$ is a good dream but be realistic. — hawgeye AH96  BS98 SenS CtNs www.hawgeye.com

Response:

"Diode" wrote… I’d like your opinion on starting a part time business repairing airbrushes and compressors.  I owned my own business for 10 years so I familiar with the complexities of running one.

snip So, do you think that it’s a viable business?  Is there enough work out there to make it worthwhile?   Do you know of anybody else that has done this?  Of course, I have no plans of competing with what you’re doing  Thanks Ken (and anybody else that wants to jump in here).

I’m not Ken nor do I play him on TV but I’ll throw my opinion in anyway. Unless you plan on subsidizing the business with something else like art supply sales, then you’ll be out of business before you know it. Airbrushes are fairly cheap to buy, they’re almost disposable. The cost for shipping, parts and labor to fix an airbrush isn’t really worth it for the consumer. For example, I fucked up my VL this past weekend.  It needs a new tip assembly and needle.  Probably $15 in parts from Dixie plus $15 for S&H. Now if I were to send it to you to fix what would it cost me?  $30 for round trip shipping, $30 for parts (you’d be crazy not to have a mark-up) plus $30 for your time?  I can almost buy a new one for that kind of money. Don’t get me wrong, wanting to help people and make a few $$$ is a good dream but be realistic. — hawgeye AH96  BS98 SenS CtNs www.hawgeye.com

Response:

hawgeye spoke thusly: For example, I f*cked up my VL this past weekend.  It needs a new tip assembly and needle.  Probably $15 in parts from Dixie plus $15 for S&H. Now if I were to send it to you to fix what would it cost me?  $30 for round trip shipping, $30 for parts (you’d be crazy not to have a mark-up) plus $30 for your time?  I can almost buy a new one for that kind of money. Don’t get me wrong, wanting to help people and make a few $$$ is a good dream but be realistic.

I should have been more clear on the fact that it would be a part time business.  I know that I couldn’t make a living at it.  I thought with the price of top line brushes being around $300 (US), people would rather have them fixed than replace them.  Ken nailed it…I would have targeted the nail salons, make up people and maybe auto body shops that do custom graphics as possible customers.  Round trip shipping by UPS would only be $10-$15 (maybe less).  Assume $15 in shipping for the moment…Also assume that you didn’t know one end of the brush from the other when it comes to repair )  In your case, that would be 15 for shipping. Actual parts cost is 2.59 for the tip, 3.45 for the needle, so I mark it up a bit…call it another 15.  Plus 25 for my time.  That comes out to $55.  If you couldn’t/wouldn’t do it yourself, would you rather pay $55 for the repair, or buy a new one? — -||- Diode -|<|-

Response:

Hey Hawgeye, Actually for the USA Hawgeye is spot on. Australia is a little different story, in some ways. First off is Sydney is a city of over 4 million people, so airbrush sales in this region alone are good. The cost of a VL kit is over $230.00 Australian. Badgers run over $300.00 dollars and Iwata are in the same price group. Companies like Bear air have little effect on sales here, because of the extra effort for money transfer, shipping, duties and custom clearence charges, plus GST, it’s easier to deal with an Australian Supplier. I repair brushes as a side line. I do no promotions, everyone hears through word of mouth or through the Australian Airbrush Co. I charge a flat rate of $25.00 Labor plus parts for repairs and rebuilds. You ship to us and we ship back for $5.00 by Fastways Express ($7.00 out of state) Our biggest customers are the beauty industry, from schools to beauty supply houses, as they have little time to understand their equipment and just leave it up to us. The movie sets are the same, though many freelance artist working there, just purchase the parts. All in all I would only average 5-6 airbrushes a week. If we really wanted to get more we could, but I’m just not interested in more. $150.00 on the side is fine for me. I usually strip them down and soak them over night. The next evening I cheak them and replace any bad parts..while watching the boob tube. Pack them up in the morning after a test spray and Fastways picks them up a 10 am and they are delivered after 2:30pm for $5.00. For compressors I charge $65.00 per hour labour. Again they are becoming more and more like Hawgeye said, just through away. The days of the oil bath type compressors are getting short…with the new oiless Sparmax compressors taking over. You can fix small problems, but they are not even worth rebuilding. I started fixing the things back in the 80’s as I was doing demos for so many of the importers and they needed someone to fix them…and it just grew from their. I used to teach all my students how to service their own equipment, but now for the most parts, airbrush classes seem to skip over that bit of knowledge. I know a couple of airbrush artists here who make their living doing airbrush work and wouldn’t have a clue beyond a bent needle…lol.. Can you make a living..no..but it’s a great little side earner for me. I have purchased all the specialised tools over the years, so it’s pretty easy for me. I also service the airbrushes for the retail stores, but they aren’t happy about it, as we sell the same equipment they do, cheaper. If you are really thinking about it, you need to do a Business Plan and try to work out the numbers for your area. Ken

Response:

Ken: I’d like your opinion on starting a part time business repairing airbrushes and compressors.  I owned my own business for 10 years so I familiar with the complexities of running one. [circumstances dictated that I close the business and go back to work for somebody else...but that's another discussion]  I’ve always been adept at repairing things that are electrical, mechanical, electromechanical and electronic.  My wife and kids used to say that if I can’t fix it, it’s not broken ) Anyway, it seems that it’s a natural extension of my abilities to repair airbrushing items as well.  I’m sure I could do it provided that I had access to parts and diagrams.  I could use the $ because I have another hobby, a ‘68 Corvette.  Even though the car is great shape and it’s a show winner, there’s always an endless list of little things that need to be done, and none of them are cheap.  So, do you think that it’s a viable business?  Is there enough work out there to make it worthwhile?   Do you know of anybody else that has done this?  Of course, I have no plans of competing with what you’re doing  Thanks Ken (and anybody else that wants to jump in here). — -||- Diode -|<|-

Response:

"Diode" wrote… I should have been more clear on the fact that it would be a part time business.  I know that I couldn’t make a living at it.  I thought with the price of top line brushes being around $300 (US), people would rather have them fixed than replace them.  Ken nailed it…I would have targeted the nail salons, make up people and maybe auto body shops that do custom graphics as possible customers.  Round trip shipping by UPS would only be $10-$15 (maybe less).  Assume $15 in shipping for the moment…Also assume that you didn’t know one end of the brush from the other when it comes to repair )  In your case, that would be 15 for shipping. Actual parts cost is 2.59 for the tip, 3.45 for the needle, so I mark it up a bit…call it another 15.  Plus 25 for my time.  That comes out to $55.  If you couldn’t/wouldn’t do it yourself, would you rather pay $55 for the repair, or buy a new one?

OK, you do realize that the amounts that I used were hypothetical? Although I did fuck up my VL. (Don’t ask!) Having said that, I suppose that IF ….. I couldn’t fix a $300 brush and it would cost only a fraction to have it repaired and that brush was my livelihood, then YES, I would send it in to be repaired. OTOH, how many circumstances like that exist and what percentage of those do you think that you’d get the business for?   Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to discourage you but trying to give you things to consider.  Things that you’ll need to know the answers to IF you need to borrow money for this venture. Ken is right, you should put a business plan together. Whether you’re borrowing money or not.  Some research may be a wise choice as well.  I’d be interested in knowing who’s your competition?  What do they charge? How many airbrushes were sold annually for the past 5 or 10 years and what percentage of those are replacements.   That last part may be hard to find out but you get the point. Good luck to ya. — hawgeye AH96  BS98 SenS CtNs www.hawgeye.com www.stealer-dealer.com

Response: