Aircraft painter vs hand painter

The differences between aircraft painters and hand painters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an aircraft painter and a hand painter. Additionally, a hand painter has an average salary of $42,828, which is higher than the $40,227 average annual salary of an aircraft painter.

The top three skills for an aircraft painter include ladders, coats and stencils. The most important skills for a hand painter are photoshop, sculpture, and .

Aircraft painter vs hand painter overview

	Aircraft Painter	Hand Painter
Yearly salary	$40,227	$42,828
Hourly rate	$19.34	$20.59
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	6,791	8,147
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Aircraft painter vs hand painter salary

Aircraft painters and hand painters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Aircraft Painter	Hand Painter
Average salary	$40,227	$42,828
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $54,000	Between $30,000 And $60,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between aircraft painter and hand painter education

There are a few differences between an aircraft painter and a hand painter in terms of educational background:

	Aircraft Painter	Hand Painter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 40%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Fine Arts
Most common college	-	-

Aircraft painter vs hand painter demographics

Here are the differences between aircraft painters' and hand painters' demographics:

	Aircraft Painter	Hand Painter
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0%	Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 13.5% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 2.9% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 22.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 58.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between aircraft painter and hand painter duties and responsibilities

Aircraft painter example responsibilities.

Paint and/or refinish repair areas on vehicle to achieve a better than factory finish.
Apply primer and topcoat by using HVLP pressurize pot and cup guns to aircraft surface, wheel wells and intakes.
Paint using PPG water borne paint.
Apply coats of paint with gravity fed spray gun and oxygen suit with mask.
Adjust controls or infrare ovens, heat lamps, portable ventilators on aircraft between coats.
Mask and paint aircraft parts according to prints using calibrators and measuring paint mills using DIA gauges.

Hand painter example responsibilities.

Design and sew original applique, patchwork and embroidery for production abroad.
Experience with various types of roofing, including black tar and shingles.
Restock and re-shelve boxes of letters as well as designing and cutting stencils.
Used electro-pounce to produce large stencils in preparation for masking each sign face.
Remove walls/beams, as well as replacing siding of buildings and homes, shingles for roofs and pressure wash the buildings.
Paint steam and water treatment piping using scaffolding, safety harnesses, and follow refinery safety protocols

Aircraft painter vs hand painter skills

Common aircraft painter skills

Ladders, 9%
Coats, 8%
Stencils, 7%
Touch UPS, 7%
Hand Tools, 5%
Mix Paints, 5%

Common hand painter skills

Photoshop, 62%
Sculpture, 38%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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