Aircraft painter vs vehicle painter

The differences between aircraft painters and vehicle 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 vehicle painter. Additionally, an aircraft painter has an average salary of $40,227, which is higher than the $37,714 average annual salary of a vehicle painter.

The top three skills for an aircraft painter include ladders, coats and stencils. The most important skills for a vehicle painter are mask, , and .

Aircraft painter vs vehicle painter overview

	Aircraft Painter	Vehicle Painter
Yearly salary	$40,227	$37,714
Hourly rate	$19.34	$18.13
Growth rate	2%	2%
Number of jobs	6,791	5,454
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Aircraft painter vs vehicle painter salary

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

	Aircraft Painter	Vehicle Painter
Average salary	$40,227	$37,714
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $54,000	Between $25,000 And $56,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between aircraft painter and vehicle painter education

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

	Aircraft Painter	Vehicle Painter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 45%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Automotive Technology	Automotive Technology
Most common college	-	-

Aircraft painter vs vehicle painter demographics

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

	Aircraft Painter	Vehicle Painter
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0%	Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3%
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, 9.1% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 2.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	4%	4%

Differences between aircraft painter and vehicle 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.

Vehicle painter example responsibilities.

Prepared/Paint LPG tanks prepared/paint heater treaters prepared/paint oil-filled holding tanks prepared/paint separators
Operate compressors, sandblasters and spray equipment.

Aircraft painter vs vehicle painter skills

Common aircraft painter skills

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

Common vehicle painter skills

Mask, 100%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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