Who This Business Is For?

We have all seen the YouTube Videos of some guy with a tote of water applying camo to a gun. And we have all seen a custom color painted on a Glock and thought it was too cool. And, we have all seen a movie with a super cool gun and wondered how cool it would be to make our own. Well, welcome to reality - the facts are this:

• Applying camo to a gun is easy only if you are properly trained
• Custom Firearms should only be painted with Cerakote or Duracoat
• Custom guns should be left to professionals like RJF
• You never know everything about every gun - even if you own 100 of them
• A lot of parts are made in China - it is what it is - and even USA parts fail sometimes
• Budget your money - firearms will eat you alive if you do not. 
• If you want to Learn to Camo then you must first learn what NOT to do

If you want to camo a gun right now, stop reading and immediately purchase THIS KIT from our friends over at HYDRAPHICS. They have great prices and some good videos online - but no offense to them - but you will NOT have their results the first time you do it unless you have mastered a few other techniques. We will discuss that in upcoming posts.

Right now, I ask you to look at what Firearm Finishes are available on the market and see if this is something you could really see yourself doing.

Duracoat markets itself as a DIY finish but trust me - you need proper equipment to get the results a paying customer will want to see (not expensive equipment - just the right equipment).

Cerakote markets itself to military and law enforemnet style companies and consumers.

Hydraphics markets itself to the DIY "look cool" market.

However, all of these services can be used by a professional to turn out high end, durable, functional firearms. But for an end consumer - the shop they employ must be better trained than the ones that simply reference YouTube for a few minutes.

This market is tough and the secrets are well guarded. If you think - honestly - that you want to take someones firearm and add a functional yet elegant touch then this is your business. However, be prepared for red tape with FFL forms, complaints from neighboring businesses about chemical smells, and the everyday headache of dealing with the public (no offense to any of my customers).

I ask you, as a potential worker in this field - to read my blog and forget everything YouTube has ever taught you. Any relevant videos, articles, websites, etc. I will post them here and help you through your journey to become one of your areas go-to shops for firearm work.

Do not worry about your competitors reading this - everyone will eventually get their own style and own specialties thus making plenty of room in the market for professionals.

In the next post we will look at the financial burden that is "Start Up Cost" and I will go over some good ideas to look into when creating pricing and looking for a space to use.

Questions and Comments are always welcome.